Most players of Mumbai's national hockey title-winning team being Under-21 is great news for the game's future
Most players of Mumbai's national hockey title-winning team being Under-21 is great news for the game's future
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Mumbai's win in the national hockey championship, Rangaswamy Cup, after 21 years has been made sweeter by the fact that it has been achieved with a young team. That the majority of the boys are under-21 is heartening for the future of Mumbai hockey.
"We had a very young side. Most of our boys have not even played junior nationals. We did not have any stars in the team. There were no players from glamour outfits like Air India, Western Railway. Majority of our players were from senior division teams like Union Bank and RCF," Conroy Remedious, captain of the victorious team, told MiD DAY.
"These boys wanted to prove themselves that they are also good and they achieved that," added Remedious, who was among the handful of experienced players in the team.
Mumbai, who beat Haryana 3-2 in the final of the tournament played in Bhopal on Sunday, had last won the national title in 1989.
"Majority of the boys were under 21 years of age and have been training together at the Bombay Hockey Association's Mahindra Stadiumu00a0 for the last one year," said Joaquim Carvalho, who was the coach when Mumbai finished runners-up in the national championship hosted by BHA in 1994.
Alden D'Souza, who scored two goals in the final, 17-year-old Roshan Taishan, who was named the best full back, Gursevak Singh, who was the player of the tournament and best half, Amit Gauda and Jayesh Jadhav were some of the outstanding players for the Mumbai side.
"Gursevak is very experienced and has played at the highest level. He kept the game moving and was also our drag flick specialist in penalty corners," said the skipper.
Mumbai beat Punjab 4-2 in the quarter-final, Chandigarh, 3-0, in the semis and Haryana, 3-2, in the final.
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