The Young And The Talented

By Author: ram kausik
Total Articles: 126
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The dust has finally settled, after the hazy performance of the hockey team at the 2012 Olympics, to reveal the improved and rejuvenated face of the Indian hockey team. India team celebrates its victory at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne. To the world, finishing fourth place might not be a huge deal, but to a country that has been having one unsuccessful run after another at the International front, in spite of hockey being the national sport, fourth place is nothing short of a miracle; especially when the last hockey tournament they failed miserably at was the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.

Hockey fans were able to finally hold their heads up months after India’s humiliating twelfth place finish at the Olympics. Some say the hockey team had it coming to them. All that adulation they received when they beat France at Olympic qualifiers in Delhi went straight to their heads. Some of the esteemed players were even demanding payment just to comment to the press. It must all seem a very whimsical dream to them, right about now. After the Olympics, the playesr hightailed out of the country and went into hiding without ...
... so much as peep about the epic disaster that the match was.

Bharat Chettri, who religiously showed up for the press conferences after each and every match, had only the following statement to express- “The Indian hockey team is not good enough for the Olympics.” Thank you, for stating the obvious! No point crying over spilled milk. Thankfully the hockey team has come up with a new strategy- pump more young blood into the vein of Indian hockey.

Indian hockey team coach, Michael Nobbs, is highly impressed with the younger players who were instrumental in India’s top five finish at the Melbourne championships. It is his opinion that talented and fresh players like Danish Mujtaba should be given the chance to play. Though Danish Mujtaba profile is still in the budding stage, his skills have caught the attention of the crowd by now. He first played for India in the Malaysian Junior World Cup in 2009. He made his senior debut, the same year, under Coach Jose Brasa. He was a part of the team that competed at the 2010 World Cup. Danish Mujtaba’s statistics show us that he, along with other stalwart players like him, has what it takes to make India proud at the 2016 Olympics.