K. ARUMUGAM

There couldn’t have been a tougher baptism by fire for young Rajkumar Pal. He was given his first senior India cap against World Cup champions Belgium, of all teams, in the FIH Pro League in February. The 21-year-old put in a sprightly performance in a 2-1 win and did an encore against the Red Lions in the second match although India lost 2-3. Rajkumar carried his good form into the next double-leg encounter against the formidable Australians. He capped the verve and energy he displayed in the match by scoring twice.

PROUD MOMENT: Chief Coach Graham Reid presents the India Jersey to Rajkumar                         Pic: Hockey India

Way to go, Rajkumar, coach Graham Reid of Australia may well have exclaimed. Never mind if it was in a lost cause. Rajkumar is shaping to be a midfielder that the Indian team needs to augment the efforts of a promising forward line and the kind of support captain Manpreet Singh needs.

His performance drew praise from Reid who said:

“Rajkumar is a very promising young player and very hard working. He possesses extraordinary skills and can play with a lot of speed in the front. When he was given an opportunity in the Hockey Pro League, I believe he stood up to the occasion and did well.

Explosive his start in international hockey may have been, but the youngster who hails from Karampur village in UP’s Ghazipur district shows no signs of making the mistake of getting ahead of himself.

On the pitch, he exuded the temperament of a senior player. Confidence, composure and calm marked his play. It suggested a maturity beyond years.

Looking at his background and history, you can’t help discerning the play of circumstances in Rajkumar’s progress on the pitch.

He had virtually decided to give up playing hockey in 2011 after his father Kalpanath died in a road accident.

Raj Kumar Pal in an intense play

“Hockey was my passion but I was willing to give it up,” the youngster said from home where he is spending time after the the players a six-week break from the camp in Bengaluru.

“My mother Manraji needed help at home and times were difficult so I took the decision to quit playing hockey.” But as time proved a healer, his mother insisted that he pursue the sport and it dawned on Rajkumar that sitting at home in despondency would do him no good.

So he picked up his stick and began doing what he does best. Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lucknow, was where he honed his skills and his tryst with hockey began a new chapter.

It was the second time he beat the odds and stuck to the game. He wasn’t serious about taking to it even though his older brothers Jokhan and Raju played hockey.

Rajkumar reminisces:

 “I didn’t think it a good idea to play the game with two in the family already doing so. I thought of doing something else. However, with my brothers’ sticks lying around the place, I tried my hand at hockey and took a liking to it.”

The crisis caused by his father’s demise put back Rajkumar’s hockey progress by a year. But he was soon on track, absorbing the nuances at SAI, Lucknow. His copious talent saw him excel at age group nationals. In 2013 he represented SAI at the U-14 national championships in Vadodara where he caught the eye.

Rajkumar (left) in the big league Mandeep (centre) and Amit Rohidas

Eventually, Air India then took him under their wings in 2017 and fielded him at the Senior National Championships.

In a prelude to his senior debut, Rajkumar donned the sky blue colours in a U-23 tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, and scored a goal on debut. After an excellent performance in the Junior India team he helped win a bronze medal in Antwerp his first step toward senior India selection were taken in Gwalior.

At the 2019 National Championships he impressed Hockey India’s coaching panel and earned a summon to the camp at SAI, Bengaluru. He had to wait until 2020 for his senior debut and he cannot forget the feeling.

“I had goose pimples when listening to the national anthem,” he said in a flashback to the encounter against Belgium at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

“I can’t put the feeling in words.”

Fear, if any, was quickly dispelled by the courageous youngster.

“I had the support and confidence of my teammates, Lalit Upadhyay in particular who is from Varanasi not far from my village and often offered me advice and guidance at the camp. “Captain Manpreet Singh was always supportive and I was alive to his promptings on the pitch,” he said referring to the match India won.

Raj Kumar Pal in action                                                                                                               Pic: Hockey India

Against Australia, Rajkumar, far from overawed, was zipping up and down the pitch. He took the match to the camp of his vaunted opponents known for attacking and defending in numbers.

“I followed coach’s instructions and defended stoutly but pounced on the slightest opportunity to attack,” Rajkumar revealed. The dividends were soon to come. Rajkumar picked up a rebound off a penalty corner hit by Rupinderpal Singh, finishing in deft, subtle fashion by reverse hitting into the net.

The second was power personified. He picked up a free hit and brought the Aussie citadel down by unleashing a pile-driver after moving a few steps into the striking circle.

India lost 3-4 but Rajkumar was a heartening positive from the match.

Surely enough, he carried his sparkle into the second match against the Aussies which went into a shootout which India won.

“I owe it to my coach and teammates who told me not to feel afraid before the match,” Rajkumar said.

Introspective, he was quick to spot the difference between domestic hockey and the international game.

“There’s at least a 50 percent difference between the two versions,” he said. Rajkumar also knows that playing top teams like Belgium and Australia needs a special approach. “There’s plenty of body use and that must be countered effectively,” he said. “But there’s also room and scope for skill, especially of the 3-D variety,” said the fast-learning youngster, four international matches old and a keen fan of former India captain Sardara Singh.

And he attempts to follow Reid’s tactics and strategy to a T.

“Be it calling for the ball, creating space when in possession or thwarting an opponent’s offensive, I attempt to do my best,” he said. “I know my role is controlling play between the 23 metre lines and I try to use my strengths to make that possible, especially speed for which I train hard,” said the fan of MS Dhoni the superstar cricketer.

Rajkumar is in the final year of a B.A. degree where the medium of instruction is Hindi. He doesn’t yet speak fluent English but he says he’s improving, thanks to lessons twice a week by Reid’s wife. Language becomes crucial in the heat of battle on the pitch and has a crucial bearing on the referral system for umpiring decisions.

“That’s where my teammates come to my aid, players like Lalitji (Upadhyay) and captain Manpreet Singh,” he explains.

The pandemic Covid-19 and its ramifications has put a pause on sport and perhaps Rajkumar’s progress but he intends regaining momentum with hard training.

“Running and gym training is a must daily,” he said. “After all, I want to keep improving as a player and my immediate aims are to be selected to the Olympic team and win a medal next year in Tokyo.”

Faster, higher, stronger, the Olympic motto, seems much the mantra Rajkumar chants in his quest for success.

https://stick2hockey.com is India’s oldest hockey website. Launched in 1999, the website, edited and owned by hockey historian and author K. ARUMUGAM, has covered all major tournaments and events with precision. https://stick2hockey.com is the first site in the hockey world to bring viewers live text commentary and duly entered the prestigious Limca Book of Records. If vintage stories are what you are looking for, this site is the right one for you. You will also find pictures, some of them among the rarest, images of precious newspaper clippings, match reports, news breaks, interviews, features, statistics and history on a site respected by one and all in the hockey world.