Bhongir teacher on mission to promote hockey

Hyderabad: Owais Quadri is a government teacher in Brahmanwala High School, near Bhongir. His other passion is hockey. Having represented Osmania University, the 57-year-old had a desire to start and develop the game of hockey in this small town of Bhongir. His wish was fulfilled when Mother Teresa High School obliged Quadri to use the […]

Hyderabad: Owais Quadri is a government teacher in Brahmanwala High School, near Bhongir. His other passion is hockey. Having represented Osmania University, the 57-year-old had a desire to start and develop the game of hockey in this small town of Bhongir. His wish was fulfilled when Mother Teresa High School obliged Quadri to use the gravel ground for the game. The coach was inspired to start hockey after the Khelo India games a few years ago.

“I had to convince the school authorities of spotting good talent if we start the game at the ground. It was the best available ground, though it was bumpy and gravel. I brought some 20 sticks and distributed them to these young boys, who were totally new to the game. They never knew how to hold a stick and I had to begin from the basics. It took a lot of time to make the boys understand the game, the holding of the stick, distribution of the ball before getting into any serious match practice. Luckily, this untapped talent picked up the nuances of the game very quickly. Today, I feel very proud when they dribble and run and score or a defender nicely taking the ball away from the attacker or a player distributing the ball or a goalkeeper guarding the goal,” said an emotional Quadri, who continues to give hockey sticks to the players.

Incidentally, most of the players have poor financial backgrounds. Quadri started his mission in 2014. For instance, Dheerawath Santosh’s father is a labourer. So are Sharjil Ahmed and Shankar’s fathers. Angad Singh’s father is a priest in Gurudwara. Santosh’s father Raju said it was nice to see his son playing in a competition while Sharjil’s father Gulam Mujtaba added his son is totally into the game.

“He is passionate about the game and he was thrilled when he went to Pune.” Angad’s father Mahender Singh gave full credit to coach Quadri. “He has encouraged hockey in a big way. We are thrilled our children are playing hockey and even went for a tournament,” said Mahender.

For the first time Quadri even ventured to take the team to Pune to participate in the 5th SNBP All India Hockey Tournament in Pune. The moment they played on the astro-turf ground, it was a totally different experience. Padmaja Hospitals came forward to sponsor the trip to Pune.

“It is totally different while playing on gravel ground and astro-turf. We lost both of our matches but our boys got good exposure. The players were excited when they first hit the ball on the astro-turf,” said 57-year-old.

The enthusiastic coach regularly conducts summer camps in hockey in Bhongir, Velanki, Lappa Nayak thanda. He distributes hockey sticks and spends from his own purse. “There is a lot of awareness growing among these places to play hockey. The numbers are increasing and it is a good sight to see young boys running with the hockey sticks. It is my dream to produce a big player from this place,” signed off Quadri.

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