Rourkela: The country’s victory over Spain in the opening match of the ongoing FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 has predictably brought extreme happiness to the Indian side, especially to the two members who are local lads.
The duo – team vice-captain Amit Rohidas and Sanjeep Neelum Xess – are elated that they got the chance to play before the home crowd. Rohidas even scored the first goal against Spain. “There is no greater honour and finer moment than scoring before the home crowd.
It is worth even more when it is in your own backyard,” Rohidas said. Xess said, “We are extremely thankful for the support we received here. For me it is like a dream coming true. There is no word I can use me to explain how one feels to win before the home crowd and getting accolades.”
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik declared cash award of `10 lakh for both players. “Our chief minister is doing the best possible thing for the promotion of the game (hockey) and this will definitely create more players from the state for the country,” they said.
Pattnaik himself sat through the India-Spain match in the special enclosure and later met the players and interacted with them. Coach Graham Reid in the post match press briefing said, “The first win in a tournament is certainly a great thing.
We have found out where we are lacking and we are certainly going to improve upon those. It was a very learning experience as we played the opening match with a good team like Spain.” Reid and team captain Harmanpreet Singh said the victory was due to the superb team coordination.
Singh said the defence and the forward all moved in tandem and coordinated properly in this victory. The hockey fever has completely affected the Steel City, where 25 LED screens have been installed so that the people can watch the matches outside the Birsa Munda International Hockey stadium.
In fact, a crowd gathered near the screens much before the matches started. “I failed to get a ticket for the match but the screen certainly fulfilled the desire to have a ring side view. I am going to watch the matches on the LED screens every day,” said a lady at Chhend. National flags, team Tshirts, caps and facial stickers were found to be much in demand by the people.
The stadium had capacity crowd. The sellers stood outside gates 5 and 6 and did brisk business. “I have made a handsome profit of one thousand rupees within one hour, all my goods are sold out,” said Rakesh, a seller. The national flags of different sizes are selling briskly for `30, `50 and `100. Caps sold for `100 and the t-shirts for `200. A facial sticker or paint costs `20.
-PTI