MIR RANJAN NEGI HIGHLY OPTIMISTIC OF INDIA’ S MEN AND WOMEN HOCKEY TEAMS WINNING GOLD IN JAKARTA ASIAD

The former Indian Hockey team captain Mir Ranjan Negi is extremely optimistic about the Indian Women as well as the Men Hockey team of exhibiting their outstanding performance and win Gold medals for the country thus bringing laurels for the nation in the Asian Games in Jakarta terming it an extremely positive sign.

Mir Ranjan Negi says come what may its a most opportune and great time to revive the Indian Hockey expressing his gut feeling that this is going to be the celebration time for Indian Hockey where Indian Hockey team will surely win in another an epic India Pakistan Final expressing the hope that not only the Indian men’s team but the women team will also win the Gold.

He is extremely sure that the golden days of Indian hockey team will be back again. A one time popular India Hockey team captain and goalkeeper decades ago on whose inspiration and guidance the Indian Bollywood super star Shahrukh Khan produced the movie CHAK DE INDIA, a box office hit Mir Ranjan Negi has also acted in the popular regional Garhwali film,” Subheru Gham,” and is also working in another Garhwali movie of the Snowy Mountain productions BATHAAOUN. He had also acted in several Pahari Song CDs n performed in prominent cultural shows in India and abroad.

A down to earth human being having served in the Department of customs in Mumbai as a class one gazetted officer Mir Ranjan Negi says that the Women’s Hockey team has acknowleged Gold medals at the Asian Games in 1982 in New Delhi, hence it’s now generations that the women hockey team has seen gold at ASIAD.
Therefore the competetion in the women hockey seems to be much more as compared to the men’s hockey in Jakarta Asiad.

According to him the women hockey team has performed extremely outstandingly despite all odds during the last two years and has exhibited steady progress. To substantiate his point of contention Negi says that the women’s team has not only qualified for the last Oympics but had also won the prestigious Asian Champions’ Trophy. Prasing Rani Rampal as one of the exceptionally outstanding players of the Indian Hockey team Mir Ranjan Negi says that she is genuinely and probably the only world class player Indian women’s hockey team posseses.

Despite his being a sportsman Mir Ranjan Negi is held is high esteem amongst the native Uttarakhandi community for his love and affection for its culture and dialect. His dexterity in acting and dancing in regional films and folk songs is highly laudable.

Negi has penned down his detailed views on Indian hockey teams after a long time. I asked him if our newsviews network can publish it and he readily accepted hence this article.

Negi adds :Men’s team by far is the best team in India and rightly so they are the highest ranked team in Asia. But as always in sports, one can not take things lightly and for granted.

For both Men and Women hockey teams, its a very big and easiest opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 writes Ranjan. Mir Ranjan Negi is of the view that: It is probably happening for the first time that the quality of talent and our bench strength we have in both our teams is absolutely fantastic. He adds in his write up: I can say with pride and keeping my head high that in Asia no other team has got that and it was not there four years ago for us too.

Praising the goalkeepers as one of the best in India’s women and men hockey team Negi said: both our goalkeepers Sreejesh P Raveendran and Savita Punia are ranked for the first time in the top five goalkeepers of the World. And both of them have played a big role in India’s gallant performances in the last couple of years. The goalkeeper of the Indian Hockey team Mir Ranjan Negi catagorically said that in modern hockey, one can win with a mediocre defence line, may be with an average mid field or even a moderate forward line but if you do not have a World class goalkeeper, trust me, you can never win.

He further says in his write up: But then, there is lot of churning going on in the other Men’s teams too. Roelant Altmans has been reappointed as coach of the Pakistan Team. He has been with the Indian Hockey in some capacity or the other for the last 8 years or so and knows all senior and junior players inside out.

Having praise for the rival hockey team Mir Ranjan is of the view that we have also witnessed the performance of the Pakistani team in the last champion’s trophy. Though they’d lost to India by 1-4, they gave some very significant results and even went on to beat Olympic champs Argentina. One can see Roelent’s imprints in their game.

Negi adds in his detailed write up: Remember, we had a very narrow escape against them in the last commonwealth games. On the strength of paper strength, I will say that our team can beat Pakistan any day by 4 goals but again its the going to be Roelent and our coach Harendra’s strategies and genius which will ultimately decide the fate of the game. We have not only defeated them in the last 3-4 years but we have literally thrashed them. So they also looking at Tokyo for revenge and some significant victory.

Malaysia on the other hand has appointed Terry Walsh as High Performance Director. According to Negi, Terry was one of the best coaches India had whom we could not hang on to. The difference in fitness and performance levels of the Indian Team had not seen such a quantum leap under any other coach rather than him.

Negi adds: Japan of course is the host and South Korea is the neighbouring country. As the Asian Games are being organised in their back yard, it will be very important to give their best. Harendra as we all know starts pepping the players even one day before a game against them. The talk in the hockey and sports circle is about master stroke being played by coach Harendra by giving Sardar Singh one last opportunity to prove his critics wrong. Sardar Singh was almost in wilderness and nobody gave him a chance. In fact lot of people including me thought that his days are numbered now. But Harendra bestowed his faith in him. Show me what you can do.. could be his words. And who knows, the strategy may pay off. Less than six months from now, India is hosting the World up. Just imagine … this is one great opportunity where we go with a bang, win Asian Games Gold and get a medal at the Wold cup. Imagine, Sardar Singh named the best player of the tournament and ends his outstanding career. A dream which could be true. But what if he falters. People will blame the coach Harendra. So it’s a big gamble which only time will decide in a few days from now.

Highly optimistic of India’s exemplary performance Mir Ranjan Negi is highly confident that : Come what it may, it is a great time to revive Indian Hockey. I have this gut feeling that it is going to be a celebration time for Indian Hockey where we will win the gold in another an epic India Pakistan final and not only that even Women hockey will win the gold. And the golden days of Indian hockey will be back. Till then keep supporting the decisions and instincts of coach Harendra Singh and Sjoerd Marijne.

With permission from Mir Ranjan Negi, former Indian Hockey team’s captain n goalkeeper for news views network