‘U-14 ‘Babu’ hockey good platform’

Owing to the high standards adopted all along during the All India KD Singh ‘Babu’ Sub-Junior Invitation Hockey Tournament, the under-14 tourney is becoming popular in the hockey fraternity of the country. There have also been talks about conferring it the status of sub-junior nationals. So it is not very surprising that for the young players, getting a chance to participate in the tourney is a matter of great pride.

Talking to The Indian Express, centre-forward Raj Kumar Pal who emerged as an important player for the tournament champions UP, said, “ It was my first big national level tournament. It was really encouraging to get the ‘Player-of-the-match’ award in the quarter-final match against Shahbad in which I sounded the boards four times.”

The twelve-year-old player from Karampur village of Ghazipur is hopeful that his efforts will bear fruits in the near future. “In Karampur, boys practice round the year to be able to get selected in the UP team which participates in this competition. The tournament provided us a good platform where we were able to realise about where we stand among the competitors from different parts of the country. Besides, the tournament exposure gave us a feel of what the atmosphere is like in big events and how to overcome pressure.”

Like many other participants Pal also aspires to make it to the Indian hockey team one-day like UP players Amir Khan and Danish Mujtaba. “We are lucky that nowadays, if you are talented you get a chance to represent your nation even when you are quite young. So it would be really great if I am able to groom my talent in such a way that I too get a chance to serve the nation in another four or five years.”

The budding player is full of praise for one Tej Bahadur Singh who is doing a lot for hockey promotion at Karampur. “Many of the boys there are not very rich. My father is a truck-driver with a monthly income of Rs 5,000. Bhaiyya (as Tej Bahadur is fondly referred to by the Karampur boys) not only provides us with the kit free of cost but also takes care of our health. He sponsors gram, milk and bananas for the players daily. There are about 200 players in his Academy. Indradev Sir is my coach but bhaiyya too takes a lot of interest in our coaching.”

UP team coach Rashid Aziz Khan said, “although I have seen him play for just about 15 day’s or so I can say that he is very talented.”