Keegan Pereira, 27, didn't know too much when his parents migrated from India to Canada when he was just seven years old. He also didn't know too much when he played his first international tournament — a World Cup — for Canada eight years ago in New Delhi, then just a teenager. Yesterday, however, as central midfielder, Pereira knew just exactly how to handle the pressure out there in the middle and played his heart out as his World No. 11 team went down fighting 1-2 to World No. 3 Belgium.

The last eight years have seen Pereira grow from a rookie to a senior member of a team that is slowly but surely finding a firm footing in world hockey. "Earlier, all of us in the national team had to do jobs besides playing hockey but now, things are different. I play professional hockey in Germany and the sport is full-time for me now," Pereira tells mid-day after the opening match of the World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here yesterday.