Dhanraj Pillay turns back the clock at WCG rink hockey

Mumbai Raje’s Dhanraj Pillay

Former India hockey captain and mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay, 55, turned back the clock, scoring all the goals for his team in a 4-2 opening-round at the 43rd Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana five-a-side rink hockey tournament at Santacruz on Sunday night. Representing seasoned outfit Mumbai Raje in the veterans category, Pillay scored four times against Ave Maria as his team stormed into the semi-final league stage of the eight-team event.

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Interestingly, four-time Olympian Pillay, who has not played professional hockey for over a decade, enjoys being a part of Mumbai's rink hockey circuit. "I'm playing rink hockey in Mumbai after a two-year gap. I've always enjoyed playing rink hockey here. In fact, it's one of the reasons I train daily and keep fit even today," 1998 Bangkok Asian Games-winning skipper Pillay told mid-day on Monday.

Coming back to the exciting WCG encounter, Mumbai Raje goalkeeper Vijay Kannan revealed how Pillay turned the game on its head. "We were 1-2 down at half-time and worried, but Dhan [Pillay] was calm and confident. On resumption, he then knocked in two more goals. It was so tough for the opposition to mark him because he was constantly on the move, storming ahead in attack and quickly backtracking to assist the defence," custodian Kannan said.

Women's League Results

Sea View 1 (N Braganza) drew with Republicans 1 (Annaniya T), Master Blasters 4 (Kavita 2, Sujajlata 2) bt Savio Hockey 0, WR 3 (Priyanka 3) drew with SAI ‘A' 3 (Naziya, Sonali, Monika), SAI ‘B' 4 (Beena, Neha, Ankitha, Sanika) bt Don Bosco Academy