Current Indian hockey team has the potential to restore our Olympic glory: Ashok Kumar Loktej Sports News

New Delhi, April 11 (Hindustan Reporter) Ashok Kumar was honored with the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award at the sixth annual function of Hockey India last month. Ashok Kumar is the son of the legendary late Major Dhyanchand, known as the magician of hockey. Along with this, Ashok Kumar Balbir Singh Sr., Late. Captain Shankar Laxman, Harbinder Singh, A S Bakshi, and Gurbux Singh joined the list.

In the latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India, Ashok Kumar expressed his feelings on receiving the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.

He narrated the thrilling experience of the 1975 World Cup final against Pakistan and shared stories from the life of his father Major Dhyan Chand. Ashok Kumar also highlighted the difficulties Indian men’s hockey team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad faced while training under him and outlined his expectations from the current team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Talking about the importance of the award, Ashok Kumar said, “Sure, there are moments when you are honored for your efforts, when you are recognized, you feel proud, but the impact of the award is on the people around you and Affects the youth. The national team is more important. I am fortunate that I have been given this award in the name of my father Major Dhyanchand, who spread the name of India all over the world. I am fortunate to stand behind great players who have won awards before me and I will always consider them above my stature.”

“It is a prestigious award, one of the highest honors you can get in hockey but for me, it is the name of my father Major Dhyan Chand that holds more importance,” Ashok Kumar was quoted as saying by Hockey India on Thursday. My entire family is happy that I have joined a special line of hockey greats. Dhyanchand’s name will always live in history.

Ashok Kumar was part of the prestigious team that won India’s only World Cup title by defeating Pakistan in the final in 1975. Ashok Kumar always felt that he had to emulate his father to the best of his abilities but till then a gold medal was far from him in his career. Before the start of the 1975 World Cup, he was included in the squad as only the 16th man and had little chance of playing. But as fate would have it, it was Ashok Kumar who led India to a 2-1 victory over Pakistan in the final.

Recalling his memories of the final, he said, “We visited all the temples a day before to pray for our victory. On the day of the final the entire stadium was packed but we had prepared as usual. I watched myself play the match, focusing on the mistakes I’d made so far so I wouldn’t repeat them. I had good chemistry with BP Govinda and we decided that if we lost the ball in the final third, one of us would have to take the responsibility of getting the ball back, and we completely shut down the Pakistan attack.

However, despite this the Pakistani team scored a goal. After a heated exchange at halftime, Surjit Singh gave India an equaliser, scoring through a penalty corner in the 44th minute. In the 51st minute, Ajit Pal pushed the ball towards me in the circle, I dodged some players and passed to Victor Phillips, he once again sent the ball to me and I put it into the goal post, India won 2-1. Made it confirmed. After the final whistle, I threw my hockey stick into the crowd out of joy and that’s when I realized that I could finally stand proudly in front of my father with a gold medal in my hand.”

After retirement, Ashok Kumar started coaching the youth and the current team includes two of his disciples Vivek Sagar Prasad and Neelkanth Sharma. Both are currently in Australia and preparing themselves for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

On his expectations from the current Indian men’s hockey team, Ashok Kumar said, “When I used to play, people were crazy about hockey, there was a pride attached to this game in India. No country has been able to match India’s feat of winning 8 gold medals and we have to preserve this legacy at any cost. I believe this group of players can do it; They have been controlling games recently and have demonstrated unity. I am sure this team has the winning spirit that can take India to the podium, whether they will stand on top for the 9th time and restore past glory remains to be seen.”