From cards to cricket: How Hockey India League overseas stars are making most of their time in Rourkela

From cards to cricket: How Hockey India League overseas stars are making most of their time in Rourkela

Unlike other franchise tournaments in India, where the caravan travels to different parts of the country, the men’s edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) has been confined to the remote district of Rourkela in Odisha with a short pit-stop in Ranchi.

It’s been more than a month since the HIL got underway and some of the overseas stars have had to find ways to entertain themselves.

For some, it’s not their first trip here after travelling with their national teams for the World Cup in 2023 and Pro League matches in recent times. But a 40-plus day stay, in what seems like within the confines of the team hotel for large periods, can be a weary proposition.

“That was the bit of the worry coming in, I thought I might get bored staying in the village,” said Australian forward Tim Brand, who plays for Hyderabad Toofans. “We play a lot of cards by the pool. It was a nice break to go to Ranchi and be separated a bit for 10 days.”

It’s a lot of card games by the pool, movies, golf, books, ping-pong, snooker and some cricket inside the premises of the World Cup village, next to the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, which has helped them break out of the monotony.

The lone ping-pong table inside the village was constantly occupied. Unfortunately for them, Rourkela, a steel township, doesn’t offer much outside of this.

Kalinga Lancers’ Nick Bandurak has kept himself entertained through UNO card games and watching films. “I am rooming with Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, who has brought his Xbox with him so we have been console gaming a lot,” said the Englishman.

“A lot of reading and golf on the side, anything to keep ourselves busy. We are a tight-knit group so we find ways to keep ourselves busy which is more than enough for us.”

The Hyderabad Toofans was afforded an eight-day break in between the packed schedule, which saw the head coach Pasha Gademan, his assistant Emily Calderon and his players Brand, Gonzalo Peillat, Maico Casella, Zachary Wallace and Jacob Anderson fly down to Bengaluru for some golfing.

A mix of teams inside the World Cup village has allowed the overseas group to catch up with their respective compatriots and friends. Belgian Sebastien Dockier from Rarh Bengal Tigers is making the most of the sun, during the days by the pool. “We have a lot of friends in the other teams as well. We play cards by the pool and enjoy the sun, because in our country it’s freezing,” he said.

His countryman, Victor Wegnez, seemed to be going home the real winner. From  gol gappas to golf to cards to spending time with community dogs outside the village, the Soorma Hockey Club midfielder is having a whale of a time.

The best evenings were reserved for post-matches, allowing them to put their feet up and watch live sports at the bar. The second T20I between India vs England left a few Englishmen groaning before it grew louder later that night, watching Manchester City take on Chelsea in a Premier League match. “Noooo Sanchez…” let out one of the players as Robert Sanchez’s errors gifted two goals in the defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.

Some of them have also taken to catching up on the history of Indian hockey through the halls and walls of the World Cup village, adorned with rare photographs from a bygone era.

Dutch Olympic gold medallist Jip Janssen said he didn’t know the golden years of Indian hockey. “There is not a lot of live footage from back in the day. Of course, you know some former players like Sandeep Singh and V. Raghunath but further back, there is no real footage of it. The pictures were inspirational,” said the Tamil Nadu Dragons defender.

Tim Cross of Tigers added, “I have read a few of them [from the pictures]. There is a long and very successful history in India for hockey so it was interesting to go through them, see the history here and globally as well.”