Bengaluru: : Rahul Dravidonce a hockey midfielder, he famously put away his stick and stuck to weaving magic with the willow. Almost four decades later, with a stick in hand, he can still trap a ball with precision and also place a pass well. The former captain and coach of India, who played in the same school team – St. Joseph’s Boys High School – former international hockey players Anil Aldrin and Sandeep Somesh, count hockey as one of their favorite sports. Speaking at the opening of the inter-college hockey tournament commemorating the platinum jubilee of his alma mater, St Joseph’s College of Commerce (SJCC), here on Friday, Dravid recalled his days on the hockey field.“I played a lot of hockey at school. I was lucky to play with people like Anil Aldrin and Sandeep Somesh for two reasons. First, we were a strong team and we won tournaments like the Centenary Shield and Father Eric Vaz inter-school tournaments because of these two guys. Also, it was a good lesson for me because when I saw that I played better with them, or I had to play with them, I played better.” Dravid joked.Incidentally, Dravid and Somesh both played as midfielders, while 1996 Atlanta Olympian Aldrin was a defender. The 53-year-old Dravid said that hockey had played an important role in his formative years. “I loved playing hockey. It was a great team sport. India has such an incredible history, legacy and tradition in hockey,” he said.
Dravid also lauded the revival of Indian hockey after the men’s team secured back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in Paris and Tokyo. “We have not been able to reach the heights and standards that we had in the past, but I am happy that we have had enough success in recent times. There is a renaissance of hockey,” he observed.The two-to-five-day inter-college hockey tournament, which attracted 17 teams, was organized by SJCC’s Old Students’ Association (OSA) and Yes For Hockey. The competition is timely for the revival of college hockey, which has declined over the years.Praising the OSA’s efforts, Dravid said: “They are very passionate about trying to revive hockey and get more young people playing, which is really important because it’s a phenomenal sport to be a part of.