It was a meeting of hearts. When one of India’s finest cricketers V.V.S. Laxman walked into the Gymkhana hockey ground for inaugurating the V. Purushotham Memorial Inter-school Hockey Tournament on Monday, the cloud cover too paved the way and brought smiles on the faces of the organisers.
“I was a big fan of Mukesh (N. Mukesh Kumar) since my playing days. He was a role model for sincerity and commitment,” remarked Laxman, who also like Mukesh is a senior officer in the Indian Airlines.
He hoped that with the triple Olympian taking over the challenging job as secretary of Hockey Hyderabad, the sport would get the much desired impetus in terms of promotion and exposure.
“But the onus is on the players to perform on the field. It is possible only if they have genuine passion to make it big,” Laxman pointed out. He also dabbled with the hockey stick along with Hyderabad District Collector M.K. Meena for a few minutes.
The Collector, who assured government support for the game, was also presented a hockey stick autographed by Mukesh and Laxman.
