Bombay’s Miracle Court and their Republican ‘stickmen’

Mohite was joined by Marzaban ‘Bawa’ Patel in 1978. Finances were hard to come by but with the Parsi bachelor joining him, Mohite was able to continue the good work. The two put in everything to run the club, Mohite even pawning his family jewellery to finance a trip for a tournament in Pune once.

‘‘From that time, we’ve worked together. We’re running the club with borrowed money and on the goodwill of some of the former players,’’ says 54-year-old Patel. ‘‘It is tough most of the time. But what to do, both of us are just bitten by the hockey bug.’’

Though none of them have any formal training or coaching experience, the ‘Miracle Court’ — as Patel has christened it — is so highly rated that most local outfits turn to Bawa to coach talented players.

How does it work? Well, Patel thinks it’s his ‘‘gift of the gab’’. ‘‘These boys need motivation, be told the right things. The boys will work on their own if you can get the message across to them correctly,’’ Patel feels.

Another reason why the duo have endeared themselves to the hockey fraternity is the work that they have done with underprivileged children. Their efforts have ensured that at least four children who lived in shanties in the area around BHA went on to become good players and gain employment. A case in point is Jayesh Jadhav, the grandson of a maali at BHA. Jadhav today plays for Air India.

Ironically, while a number of the wards have hit the international stage and most have got employment through their exploits, finances have remained hard to come by. Small sponsors haven’t taken things forward by much ‘‘we have had to bring players from outside to play in the league,’’ laments Patel, ‘‘because most of our players get picked up by bigger clubs’’. The result: Huge debts. Mostly personal.

What keeps them going then, outside of the bug? Mohite sums it up: ‘‘I can’t tell you how happy I am every time I hear another one of our boys has done well or made it to the national team.’’