After sweating for six years amidst hundreds of urban poor from five metro cities of India, and after earning a plethora of acclaim from Hockey India to President of India for the concept and execution, the globally known One Thousand Hockey Legs project got a return gift from one of the stakeholders this week when its Delhi boy Kishore Arya, 17, got selected for India’s National team for the fourth Sub-Junior Asia Cup.

Kishore’s selection to Indian team creates many records in its wake.

*****First player from an NGO to make it to the national side of any age group.

*****First player from OTHL family to obtain national colours.

*****First player from government school to knock the national team from Delhi. (Every past Delhi players like MK Kaushik, Harendra Singh etc came from private schools).

*****He is the first player to get selected for Indian team of any group from Delhi in more than two decades.

Kishore’s rise from joyous kid roaming on the public park to part of national team lends credence to the OTHL’s policy of week end practice, giving right break at right time, and one can get good results if sticks to ethics at grassroot level.

He got skills imparted for three years, competitive spirit inculcated in variety of school tournaments the NGO organized, and then when he was successful in trials for STC Patiala, he could attain excellent levels of physical fitness. This is the kind of break which is mentioned above.

The team is at present in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where it made it to knock out stage with a win and loss record in its pool, and is all set to engage arch rival Pakistan on Thursday.

Kishore Arya, son of a car driver, had passed out 10th standard from a OTHL subscribed school from South Delhi, a barren region for Delhi hockey till OTHL made its presence in 2010. Kishore currently an incumbent of National Hockey Academy.

Kishore Arya got selected for Sports Training Centre, Patiala last year, where he improved his game and also fitness. STC is a govt run scheme where selected boys are given freeboarding and lodging for three years by the government of India.

Kishore Arya was part of the OTHL school team as a left half, got selected for the NGO’s Hockey India Sub-Junior National team for Baroda and Jammu numbers.

One Thousand Hockey is the project of Delhi based Non-Governmental Organization, Hockey Citizen Group, which seeks to introduce at least 500 school kids in each city to the sport of hockey and also transform their career for betterment.

The NGO was founded by hockey writer and historian K. Arumugam in 2008 after India failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and one of the reasons for decline of Indian hockey has been absence of hockey culture in the educational institutions.

About 80 schools in five cities have been beneficiary of OTHL since inception. OTHL introduced hockey in 24 school in Delhi alone.

OTHL participates regularly in the Hockey India age group National Championships.

OTHL was awarded Hockey India President’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2014 (A Trophy and Rs. 5 lacs).

On the recommendations of Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, President of India Presented Sports Promotion Award recently on National Sports Day.

HCG and OTHL are volunteer efforts anyone can join and contribute time and kind.

Its citizen’s zeal that could bring at least one India player from its side, with Kishore Arya entering the national team.