India’s men’s hockey team has created history by winning the bronze medal match against Germany. So, India’s men’s hockey team has finally ended their drought of not winning an Olympic medal over 41 years. It has become a special moment for a small Hoshangabad district of Madya Pradesh where people started to show interest in making sports as there is a career.
Vivek Sagar who is the midfielder in India’s men’s hockey team comes from Chandan village. He is 21 years old who is willing to promote hockey in his state and he is putting a lot of extra effort to do it.
There is the background to how Vivek Sagar pursued his dreams to play hockey for India. Vivek Sager started to play hockey in the year 2012. But his father was not convinced by the decision he made instead he asked Vivek Sagar to concentrate on his studies. Vivek Sagar’s father said that “I asked him not to waste much time playing hockey… since I wasn’t convinced, he could not even ask me for a new hockey stick. He would play with a damaged stick he borrowed from his friend”.
“He would go for practice without telling me. But once he started playing at the state level, I had to trust him. Today, I am so proud that my son took the right decision”, Prasad said.
Previously Indian national play Vivek Sagar went on to lead the lead junior national team, now he started to distribute hockey sticks with an amount of sponsorship.
Vivek Sagar’s brother who is a software engineer said about Vivek that “Vivek wants to see hockey as popular as cricket in India and he is passionately working on it”.
We could see today that not just his family or the village he came from, but even the former Olympian Ashok Dhyanchand have also appreciated his efforts.
Ashok Dhyanchand said that “I still remember when I saw his talent. Six years ago, I had gone to attend a hockey tournament as a guest. Vivek, who was representing the district team, impressed me with his skills. I choose him for MP Men’s Hockey Academy in Bhopal. Before going to the academy, he stayed at my home for few months and I helped him hone his skills. I’m so happy that I chose the right player”.
Jalaluddin Rizvi the former Olympian said that “Vivek’s presence in the medal-winning India team will revive hockey in MP, which was once known as nursery of hockey”.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has announced one crore rupee for Vivek and another player, Neelkantha Sharma, who was also in MP Academy.
