WILLIAM XALXO has vivid memories of his father Alouis working from morning to night on a small plot of land in his village Rengarbhar in Sundergarh (Orissa). He also remembers the years when the produce from the land was not enough to feed his family and his father went away to Kolkata to earn a living as a labourer.
Little William didn't have not too many complaints with life then. He would look forward to the early morning walk to his school — Kesramal School — and also to the evening hockey games with village friends.
He also liked to help his mother Agatha in the fields when he has home or his grandfather Nathaniel, who tried to earn some money working as a mason.
But everything seemed to change when he was nine years old -- his father died after a brief illness and William, the eldest among three siblings, suddenly learnt the meaning of responsibility. He realised he had to somehow do something to ease the burden on his mother and grandfather. “Those were very difficult times. It broke my heart to see my mother toil for hours to feed us. I wanted to grow up fast and start earning. Hockey was far from my mind."
But grandfather Nathaniel had other plans. He urged William to study hard and also concentrate on hockey. In 1996, he was selected to play in a sub-junior team in Cuttack.
{{/usCountry}}But grandfather Nathaniel had other plans. He urged William to study hard and also concentrate on hockey. In 1996, he was selected to play in a sub-junior team in Cuttack.
{{/usCountry}}“I did not want to leave my mother, sister and brother. But my grandfather insisted that I go. I tried to play but my heart was not there.
“It was there that I met Dilip Tirkey. He had just returned after playing in the Atlanta Olympics - he was a hero for the tribals in Sundergarh. I decided that night that I would try to be like him one day," he says.
He soon moved to the academy in Rourkela and started playing for his state. However, things were not very good at home — the family was going through acute financial crisis. “1998 and '99 were very difficult. There was not enough to eat at home. My mother tried to hide the fact from me but when I went home in holidays I was shocked. I wanted to quit hockey and work so that my family wouldn't starve. But somehow my family convinced me to go back," he recalls.
Air India National Hockey Academy (AINHA) coach AK Bansal —who had trained boys in Sundergarh for five years in late 80s and early 90s—saw him at an U-18 camp in Mumbai in 2001 and was impressed. “I asked him to come to Delhi but he refused.
“I even asked Dilip Tirkey to speak to him... I had a feeling that he would improve as a player here and would get more opportunities." William, who did not want to be too far away from his family, finally relented. He joined AINHA in 2002 and soon went with the U-19 national team to Malaysia. He grew in confidence and in a year's time he was in the national junior team. He played in the Asia Cup, which India won, and after that was asked to join the national team.
Today, 21-year-old William is a key member of the national team and is playing alongside his hero, Dilip Tirkey. “It’s a dream come true and I thank Bansal sir and other coaches for motivating me. But I have a long way to go. I still don’t have a job, I have to take care of my family... I feel my journey has just begun," he says.