“In Telangana, it’s mostly the poor youngsters who take to hockey,” revealed former India hockey captain N. Mukesh Kumar. “They definitely need everything in terms of support for maintaining fitness,” he added, in support of his rather disturbing disclosure, as he watched youngsters battling it out in a match as part of the first Telangana State Junior Inter District Hockey Tournament at Adilabad’s Indira Priyadarshini Stadium a few days ago.
The Olympian wants the State government to extend support in the form of astro turf hockey fields and good accommodation for young players during training camps.
“We will look after the food part,” he asserted while referring to the 10-day training camp that is going to be held in Nizamabad for the players who got selected to the State junior hockey team after the tournament in question.
Mukesh Kumar, who is a selector for the State team, foresees great time for Indian hockey following the start of Hockey India League. He said good players can even make Rs. 60 lakh every season playing this league unlike in the past.
“This is a fact that needs to be spread among the youth by coaches so that they are attracted to the game. The youth should also feel proud of playing hockey for their country,” he pointed out.
The former Olympian stressed on the need for discipline among players, especially the younger generation. He said the current nature of play demands professionalism which includes discipline and fitness.
“It is amazing to see these two things among youth taking to hockey in European and other countries,” Mukesh Kumar said. “Their professionalism has the teams across nations playing to a single strategy rather than adopt different ones like we do here in India,” he pointed out.
In a somewhat surprising act, the State hockey selector has his daughter and son take to tennis and shooting respectively. “It was their choice,” he observed.
