Play the Ho(c)key Pokey

There was a small boy who was very fascinated with hockey.He watched it on television, he played in his mum’s kitchen and he was seriousabout taking up the game. The boy was then sent to boarding school, where thePhysical Education teacher did not allow him to get on the hockey team. The boythen played with broken sticks.

This boy, Dattesh Priolkar, from Panjim never let anythingdampen his spirit. The one day, when he was in class 5, a hockey camp in schoolwas announced. Dattesh joined the camp and there was no looking back afterthat. “I was 11 years old and played in the U-11 tournament against St Anthony,Duler. We lost the first two games and won the next three. I wouldn’t say I wasvery good at hockey then, but I scored 13 goals and was declared the mostpromising player and received the trophy. That day changed my life; it game meconfidence. Before that I was always a substitute player,” says Dattesh.

When he was in class 6, his school team won the statechampionships for the U-14 category. “My first chance to represent the statecame when I was in class 7, for the u-14 West Zone Games. We played againstRajasthan and Gujarat and lost both games and could not qualify for the maintournament,” he says about his first Nationals. In class 8, Dattesh representedhis school for the Junior Nationals in Delhi, after his school won the NehruCup the same year. “We lost the consolation finals against Mizoram. That wasthe closest we came to winning something at the national level,” he says. Thenwhen he was in class 9 and 10, he captained the school team and participated inmany tournaments including many Nationals.

Dattesh then joined People’s High School, Panjim; the schooldid not have hockey as a sport, but Dattesh played for the state team in theU-16 and U-17 teams. “I then took a break in class 12,” he says. Datteshhowever came back with a bang when he joined college and played for the JuniorNationals which is the second most recognised tournament after SeniorNationals. “I did play other tournaments when I was called by clubs,” he says.

The biggest break for Dattesh came in 2008 when he was in TYin college. “I and my friends played for a local tournament without knowingthat the tournament was being held to select players for a camp. We won thetournament and went to Mumbai for a 15-day camp.” In a flurry of getting passportsready, the next thing they saw were the matches played in Portugal ahead of theLusofonia Games. They beat Lisbon United to reach the finals only to get apenalty because of which they lost to Portugal 2-4. They came home and formed aclub M R Fernandes Calangute which has been going strong for six years now.Last year the club won the State Championship. “We have been the top club, wehardly lost any tournaments,” says Dattesh.

Though hockey is the national game, it is not given as muchimportance as other sports such as cricket and football in Goa. This is evidentfrom the lack of  a turf for hockeyplayers in the state to practice upon. “We had a ground in Peddem that seemedto be there since forever, people from Collem and Margao used to come practicethere. However, with the Lusofonia Games round the corner, that’s been used forother purposes,” says Dattesh sadly. For the State Championships that areunderway, a makeshift ground was created, which only goes to prove how muchhockey is looked down upon. “Goa has never been competitive at national level.This is not because our players are not good, it is because we do not haveground and facilities to practice.”

It is the dream of the handful of hockey players in Goa tosee the game elevated and given the respect it deserves.