Hockey World Cup 2023 : Hockey World Cup is going on in Odisha. All eyes of the world are now on Bhubaneswar. During the World Cup, a hockey-mad man was found in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar: Remember Sachin Tendulkar's coach? A cricket coach could be seen secretly in Shivaji Park since the eighties. Who used to read with students on the net from morning to evening. He used to roam around this field in Mumbai. If he saw a match happening somewhere, he would drop the students. Sachin Tendulkar was born because of that crazy cricket coach named Ramakant Achrekar. Vinod Kambli came up. A 71-year-old hockey (Hockey) coach is reminding that behavior! Find out more in this NEXT World Cup report.
Hockey World Cup is going on in Odisha. All eyes of the world are now on Bhubaneswar. During the World Cup, a hockey-mad man was found in Bhubaneswar. 71-year-old Dominic Toppo lives in a remote village in Odisha. Although he has defied his age. A seventy-something man runs from morning to afternoon with a hockey stick in hand. Reached the hockey ground at 6:30 am. And left the field at 5:30 in the afternoon. This is his daily routine. Love for hockey. And it is for that love that he lives. Dominic lives in a remote village of Rourkella, Odisha. He built a hockey player manufacturing factory there. Train children of different ages from morning to afternoon. All are the age of his grandchildren. But Dominic Toppo ran with them.
Dominic's sacrifice is to bring up future hockey players. He has been doing this for the last 22 years. Hope and dreams are still alive in the eyes of the old man. And keep saying, 'I will do this till my last breath. Let me die while doing this.'
Dominic used to pick up players by cycling from village to village. 40 to 50 km cycled to pick up the players. Quit your business because of your addiction to hockey. Dominic mortgaged the ancestral property. And with that money he teaches hockey to little boys and girls. Dominic has produced more than a hundred state level players in Rourkela. 13 have played for the national team at senior and junior level. Midfielder Lilima Minz, Jeevan Kishori Toppora is a familiar name.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirke said, 'Coaches like Dominic are our asset. They have kept the sport alive. Future generations benefit from their selfless love. When a young person picks up a hockey stick, the grassroots coach has the first responsibility to guide them. Dominic has been doing that successfully for years.'
Achrekar, if there were no Dominicans, would cricket and hockey have been so prosperous!
