Men who love hockey

‘Forgive me, Amma’. What kind of a title is this for a book on one of India’s most famous sporting stars? I have not yet read the book, but the title itself is so thought-provoking, I am sure people will find time to pick it up and flip through the pages written by my former colleague Sundeep Misra.

If you think I am attempting a book review of what I have not read, please, that is not the case. But I do think if an emotional and temperamental character like Dhanraj has spent time with Sundeep and this book has hit the stands, it is something to feel excited about.

Sundeep’s love for hockey cannot be described. It was not just the clamour for international matches, but 15 years back, when sports pages carried local sport big, Sundeep actually had a column called ‘Academia’ running in Indian Express. And that, after being pushed and provoked by sports editor Suresh Menon. If memory serves me right, Sundeep was not too keen on getting into writing a column then. Well, he has grown.

Back to the book and the man being portrayed, it is not as if Dhanraj has been forgotten. For a man who served Indian hockey with heart and soul, he never got the best treatment. Be it the Indian Hockey Federation, or players from the North or even past national coaches, Dhanraj was hated.

I have seen matches where players just would not pass the ball to him. Pray, for someone with a body as flexible as rubber yet as sturdy as a rock, he could torment rival defenders. Yes, like Mohd Shahid, he was a bit selfish, holding onto the ball too long and then losing possession.

But could any coach have changed Dhanraj? No, never. The hockey he played was from the heart, and quite often, despite being less than fully fit, he took the field. This time, let me tell you, not for selfish reasons but win matches for India.

The title of the book has obviously come, as the author tells us, from a conversation he heard on phone when India blew it against Poland at the Sydney Olympics. I was lucky enough to be in Sydney when Malleswari lifted bronze. And I was also a tormented soul seeing India botch up against Poland with hardly any time left for the hooter in that unforgettable (for the wrong reasons) hockey match.

After that match, Dhanraj wept like a child. Tears flowed in a torrent down his cheeks, and no consoling could help him. He knew, this was one great chance gone, where India could have made the semi-finals and a possible contest against Pakistan.

Well, that was not the end of Dhanraj’s Olympic career. He went to Athens in 2004 and the less said about it the better. Talk of playing for the country and winning, there is a huge similarity between Dhnaraj and Leander Paes, another emotional man who used emotion to psyche out opponents’ on the court.

If you ask me why I am trying to make a comparison it is just because at 33, Leander is talking of playing his fifth Olympics in 2008. So unless, you happen to be in a position to know these two men well-enough, you can’t figure out what drives them to go on and on in search of Olympic glory. Down South, ‘Forgive me, Amma’ could well be mistaken as some AIADMK psycophant pleading with J. Jayalalitha!

But if 38-year-old Dhanraj, a man loud and clear has suffered in life , it is because he chose a team sport. Given his creativity, eccentric genius and speed, he would be a winner if he could be reborn and play an individual sport.

I know Dhan, as friends call him, today plays from memory on the field. Would he be ready to go for the 2008 Olympics (of course if India qualify and the IHF selects him), I am ready to beat my wallet, he would say ‘yes’ even though he is past his prime.

That is the problem with Dhanraj, he never knows where to stop. His unfulfilled Olympic dream will disturb his sleep for many more years to come..