His will was broken but not his resolve! After being branded a traitor for succumbing to a goal by arch rivals Pakistan, the viewers and the media led a malicious whisper campaign against Mir Ranjan Negi, India’s National field hockey team goalkeeper . It very nearly wiped out his productive years in international hockey. He was heartbroken and led a life of obscurity for a few years. The scourge of the vilification, however, did not stop pursuing him even when he retreated to his hometown. People eyed him suspiciously and their attitude was distinctly chilly.
However, the rise of Mir Ranjan Negi is veritably the rise of the Phoenix. He decided to mentor a team of woman hockey players. He built a national team out of a contentious lot of 16 players coming from all parts of India. He coached with them painstakingly for long hours, causing a lot of heartburn amongst the teammates. But they never questioned his resolve. The result was that the woman’s hockey team won the Gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2002. This epic saga was captured on the silver screen by director Shimit Amin and Negi’s character was immortalized by the Indian superstar ShahRukh Khan in the movie “ Chak De India”
Catch the wave of euphoria in the stands as capacity crowds at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Delhi egg on teams – and particularly host India – at the World Cup Hockey being played out between February 28 to March 13 2010!
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