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“Playing hockey makes me the happiest” says Viren Rasquinha, former India hockey captain .
Back in 2008, when the Mumbai-born Mangalorean, then a prominent member of the Indian hockey squad, decided to quit professional hockey, only to pursue a management degree at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, it took everyone by surprise.
He was only 28 years old and was in decent form. He was known to be one of the finest midfielders in the national squad, and had also led the country to some glorious wins over his career spanning about ten years.
Today, after the official draft of the WSH teams was held in Mumbai, where Rasquinha was confirmed of playing for his home team- Mumbai, he spoke to Sportskeeda.com in an exclusive interview about his comeback and about the much-talked about World Series Hockey. Excerpts:
Nandini : Quitting professional hockey must have been an emotional decision for you. How does it feel now to actually make a comeback?
Viren : At that time I was thinking of moving on in life and focusing on studies and my career. It was a very emotional decision to make because hockey was a part of my life. But to be honest, I have never felt as motivated as I am now in the past three years. I am extremely excited about playing the World Series Hockey and I could not have felt this way if the league was not as serious and big as this is.
Nandini : Can you tell us a little bit about the process of team composition?
Viren : The WSH draft was carried out very professionally and it was a fair process. It was on the lines of NBA draft and it was the first time I was witnessing something like this. It was done in such a way that every team walked out feeling like they had the best side and it was nothing like an IPL auction.
Nandini : What do you think about your team’s composition?
Viren : We are very happy with the Mumbai team’s composition. It has a mix of youth and experience, and we are well-covered in all three positions. We have some really good foreign players and also it was essential for us to have quite a few players from Mumbai so that we have the loyalty factor.
Nandini : With just a little over a fortnight to go for the WSH to begin, what’s the lead-up been like so far?
Viren : The lead-up has been very exciting. Going by today’s proceedings at the draft wherein all the support staff, the coaches, officials and players were present, and everyone were so involved that it only makes it obvious that this is going to be a serious event. Our coach Andrew Meredith was already cutting out schedule for camps and other key issues. It only shows how serious everyone is about the league and I am very happy to be a part of it.
Nandini : Your comments on critics branding WSH as a league for the retired players…
Viren : The league features all the top junior players in the country. Where else will Under-21 players get a platform to play against world class players and be coached by world renowned coaches like Roelant Oltmans? Whoever thinks that WSH is a league for retired players, I would like them to look at the team compositions before passing any judgement.
Nandini : What are your thoughts on Rajpal Singh’s recent comments about WSH hurting India’s preparations for the Olympic Qualifiers?
Viren : I respect Rajpal’s opinion; no doubt the Olympics is No.1 priority. But, at the same time, it’s an unfair choice to put on players whether to play for club or country. World-over, top players play for their club one week and play for the country the other week. Moreover, the league ends one month prior to the Olympic Qualifiers giving ample time for the team to prepare. It’s not like the players are sitting at home whiling away time but they are going to be playing some serious hockey.
I would also like to add that no team in the world has prolonged camps like the Indian team. The other day, I was discussing about the same with Prakash Padukone and he was of the opinion that a right balance between training and competition is a must and WSH will have the best of the competition and it can only do good for the players ahead of the qualifiers.
Nandini : For the longest time we have complained about hockey players not getting their due and now that we are finally being paid well then why not?
Viren : I hope Michael Nobbs witnesses all the matches and picks the best team for the Olympic Qualifiers.
Team list along with their captains and coaches:
Bangalore: Arjun Halappa (captain) & Jude Felix (coach)
Bhopal: Sardara Singh (captain) & V Bhaskaran (coach)
Chandigarh: Rehan Butt (captain) & Harendra Singh (coach)
Chennai: Brent Livermore (captain) and Jose Brasa (coach)
Delhi: Lucas Vila (captain) & Roelant Oltmans (coach)
Mumbai: Adrian D’Souza (captain) & Andrew Meredith (coach)
Pune: Rodrigo Garza (captain) & Gundeep Singh (coach)
Punjab: Prabhjot Singh (captain) & Rajinder Singh (coach)
The WSH will be held from Dec 17 to Jan 22 and will involve 200 leading players – Indian and international – who will showcase their talent in 61 matches.
