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Varanasi’s Lalit keeps his promise as India win bronze in men’s hockey at Tokyo Olympics
Ace midfielder Lalit Kumar Upadhyay says this medal will act as a tonic for Indian hockey and increase the popularity of the sport
“I will come back with a medal for sure.”This was the promise ace midfielder Lalit Kumar Upadhyay made to his father Satish Kumar Upadhyay and coach Parmanand Mishra before India won a historic medal in hockey after 41 years at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, defeating Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match.
The promise didn’t make the two relax at all. They couldn’t sleep properly till the start of the match for the bronze medal at the Oi Hockey Stadium on Thursday morning. There were altogether different scenes at Lalit’s home at the Shivpur bypass in Varanasi and coach Mishra’s house in Sarnath, located 10 km northeast of Varanasi.People from Lalit’s village gathered at his house to watch the match live with his parents and his elder brother, whereas Mishra chose to watch it alone as he didn’t want to be disturbed.
“I watched the match all alone as I didn’t want any disturbance. I even kept my family out of my room during the 60-minute clash. I couldn’t pick my phone for a few minutes even after India’s win as it was an emotional moment for me. I couldn’t believe that my trainee Lalit kept his promise of a medal to me,” said Mishra who trained Lalit at the Udai Pratap College in Varanasi under the Sports Authority of India’s scheme.
“This means a lot to me as well as to Varanasi, which has produced some great hockey players for India in the past like Mohd Shahid and Vivek Singh. India’s success in hockey at the Tokyo Games is a great gift to Varanasi and it’s a special occasion to celebrate in the month of Sawan as we all worship Lord Shiva,” said Mishra, adding, “Lalit was one of the amazing kids we had in the lot of 10-11 boys under training. He (Lalit) never disobeyed my orders on the ground and was always disciplined.”
“I never found him missing his training sessions. His ability to bounce back, especially when he was trapped in a selection controversy, helped him a lot. Lalit’s achievement will help attract many more Varanasi kids to hockey in the near future,” said Mishra, 62.
Lalit’s father Satish, 61, too sounded emotional on his son’s success. “I told him to stay focused even after India lost to Belgium in the semi-final. It was heartbreaking for all of us but I kept my cool and didn’t let my son know my emotions,” said the senior Upadhyay, still a private employee of a nationalised bank in Varanasi.
“We celebrated all the goals scored by India today and my heart was almost in my mouth when Germany got a penalty corner in the last few seconds of the game. I still feel the goosebumps as controlling emotions at that time was quite difficult,” he said.
In Tokyo, the situation was no different for Lalit who was watching the match while sitting in the stands of the Oi Hockey Stadium after being injured in the previous match.
“It’s an emotional moment... can’t understand what to say (after a pause). The way we played today was unique. It’s a moment to celebrate, congratulate everyone,” said Lalit on Thursday.
“I came to Tokyo with Baba Bholenath’s blessings, and was sure of winning a medal here as I had (made) this promise to my family and my coach in Varanasi. In today’s game, our strong defence stopped the Germans. The last four minutes were heart-stopping as the opponents were scoring penalty corners one after the other. My heart came to a standstill for a while when Germany got a penalty corner in the last six seconds, but Anna (PR Sreejesh) stood like a rock at the goalpost and defended us.”
“This medal will act as a tonic for Indian hockey. After a long gap, this medal has increased our stature at the international level. The popularity of hockey will increase once again . A plan should be made to take this game to the villages.”
(With inputs from Sudhir Kumar in Varanasi)
