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Hockey umpiring can be a thankless job – the man with the whistle is hardly remembered when a match gets over smoothly and is ‘more remembered’ in an incident-marred contest. It has to be said that hockey umpires don’t quite get the appreciation they deserve for all their spadework. Despite all the odds stacked against them, hockey umpires continue to plug away in every match, every tournament with the passion – a key ingredient – that keeps them going.
India’s ace hockey umpire RV Raghuprasad deserves all the praise for becoming only the third Indian umpire after Javed Shaikh (won the Golden Whistle at the 2014 Incheon Asiad) and Satinder Sharma (received the honour during the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers) to win the Golden Whistle from the FIH for officiating in hundred matches. The Golden Whistle is awarded for officiating in 100 matches.
The Bangalore-based umpire is the 35th umpire to win the Golden Whistle. Raghu achieved the milestone during the Australia-Pakistan Pool A match in Brasschaat, Belgium, which the world champions won 6-1. Understandably, Raghu is bubbling with elation at winning the Golden Whistle.
“It’s difficult to express my feelings right now. So much hard work has gone in reaching this far and I’m pleased winning the Golden Whistle,” he told the writer from Belgium.
The soft-spoken ace umpire talks about the ‘low-profile hockey umpires.
“Hockey umpires deserve more recognition for their efforts. The Golden Whistle is a big ‘high’ for me as it is one of the few occasions when umpires are recognized for their hard work,” he admitted.
Raghu has officiated in the 2012 London Olympics, 2014 World Cup, 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as four Champions Trophy events apart from the 2010 World Cup, where he was handpicked, but bowed out owing to illness.
“I have fond memories of the Netherlands-Korea match at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague. It was a great game in front of a big game where the Dutch rallied to win 2-1 after conceding an early goal,” he said when asked if he enjoyed officiating any particular match.
He is only 36 and will surely go places with the whistle on the hockey pitch.
