Warm night, warmer welcome for hockey stars

Suseendra Tripath

MUMBAI: Till about 10.15 pm on Monday night, it was business as usual at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, here. Families, friends and relatives were welcomed with broad smiles, warm hugs and joyous tears at the arrival arena.

Soon, the gathering that had come to receive near and dear ones, noticed a buzz around them. Hordes of media personnel had thronged the area with their trusted aides, the cameras and bazooka lenses. A few men, who looked more like bouncers of a shady night club, were prancing around with dhols and tashas. The exit area, which led to the parking lot was crammed.

Foreign nationals, frequent fliers, air-hostesses, pilots, tourists, came out with a what-on-earth-is happening-here expression. But they paused for a bit, then figured a way out of the madness and walked away. In between, Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan made an appearance, diverting the focus of the snaparrazis.

But the media continued to wait. Was there another celebrity, politician, or cricketer who was expected to walk out? No. Refreshingly, the wait was for the Indian hockey team which had defeated Great Britain 3-1 to clinch a bronze medal in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.

They took their time to walk out. Their flight had landed at 10.20pm and by the time the team, led by skipper Bharat Chetri walked out of the terminal to chartbusting bhangra tunes, it was well past 11.30. Click, click, click, went the cameras. In between, of course, Chetri was mobbed by the media. He willingly obliged with soundbites. Chief coach, Michael Nobbs was cornered too and so were star drag flicker Sandeep Singh and player of the tournament Sardar Singh. They dodged exhaustion in the same manner with which they dribble past opponents. Victory can be therapeutic indeed.

The delay, though was for the baggage that took time to roll through the conveyor belts, explained Shivendra Singh. Nobbs had to wade through crowds and the media to reach the team bus. “It’s crazy, but we received a similar reception after beating archrivals Pakistan via the tie-breaker at the Asian Champions Trophy and after clinching an Olympic berth. I am used to it, by now,” he said, before hopping onto the bus.

If the team defies the formbook and the low expectations and does an encore in London, Nobbs and his wards will get a much bigger welcome. To achieve that, he will put his wards through rigorous training in Pune where the team will be based for the next ten days.