Viren Rasquinha needs no introduction. He has left imprint on the turf as a player and now as CEO of impact making NGO, Olympic Gold Quest. He shared his thoughts with stick2hockey.com recently in Banglaore on the sidelines of JFHA inter-school tournament.

Viren believes NGOs has a big role to play in promoting sports in India, especially hockey, the sport he excelled in.

“A lot of highly talented people run NGOs in the country, and it is good. I wish more and more professionals get involved with NGOs because sports need that kind of talent pool desperately” he says.

Viren feels that the Govt. has its own scopes and priorities and it’s not always possible to reach out to each and every one. This is where NGO offers lovely opportunities to people willing to reach out to the needful and bridge the gap left by the Government.

He has a few cautious words for NGO who go out to the corporates. “NGOs should always have a plan in place, how they will utilize the money. An organization should have its priorities and focus defined precisely. One can’t make interventions at grass-root or subsequent levels, with varied beneficiaries, at the same time. Transparency in functioning is another inherent demand of today”, he outlined.

He gives the example of OGQ where they have picked the task of getting an Olympic Gold Medal for India. “We have single point agenda. Taking India’s best to World’s Best. That’s all. You got to define your focus clearly and strive towards it taking everyone along with you. Also, you just don’t to give right support, you got to give it at the right time,” he elaborates.

He has high words of appreciation for JFHA because he feels that sportspersons are best people to understand the challenges and problems faced by sportspersons.
Many in JFHA team are players with whom Viren has grown up playing Hockey. He feels overwhelmed with the kind of work JFHA has taken up.

“I was only 19-20 when I played my 1st match under floodlights. For these children, 13-14 year old, playing on synthetic pitch and flood lights, will be life-time experience,” he says, visibly excited.

Going a step ahead, dreaming high, he fancies a future where all former Hockey players take the mettle into their hands and run the show taking precedence from JFHA.

“It’s high time that we, the young people of the country, stop cribbing about things around us and attempt to bring about a change to various things around us,” says Viren.

Talking about One Thousand Hockey Legs, he says that it’s a great way to popularize hockey amongst children. “One should just let the children enjoy the game and emphasize on the quality more than the quantity”, he advises.

He talks about the importance of parents staying encouraged to send their children to play Hockey. That is where World Series Hockey has a huge role to play. It gives the money to the players that they deserve, and thus, will be a huge motivating factor for the parents to let their children pick the Hockey stick.

He is picking up hockey stick for WSH. Despite traveling 20 days a month for OGQ, Viren has been religiously training an hour a day for the past 3 weeks. But will that suffice and bring back the same on-field Viren, who left Indian Hockey on a high?

An emotional and passionate Viren says,” I will give my 200% and will play till I fall down.”

If he has a choice, he wishes to play for his hometown, Mumbai, and would die to have Jamie Dwyer and Tuen de Nooijer on the field, charming the Indian crowds. Roelant Oltmans is another person whom Viren wants to play. “If he is here many will learn much from him”, he foretells.

Political infighting, a potential dampener to WSH, is one thing that we all are fed with. Hockey should be in news for only good Hockey on ground and television. Not many are interested in anything other than that, he assertively claims.

Viren is emphatic about the hot debate on club Vs country, “Without a doubt, it is an unfair comparison. The best player should play in WSH. The best in the country should play for India. One’s greatest pride is to play for the country but one can’t deny players from making a few bucks from another event. Club and country culture is everywhere in the world. No one has any qualms about it, either.”

Viren fondly remembers one of the findings of a national talent show like PHL. “It was PHL that catapulted Shivendra Singh to the national colors”, he asserts.

That is what it should be in WSH – young talent will get the extraordinary opportunity to make their thumping entry into the elite pool of national players.