As members of the Indian hockey team returned from Australia to a rousing reception a few days back, one of their mates sat not too far away in Patiala, playing with a TV remote — and not a hockey stick — in the common room of National Institute of Sports (NIS). He was restless, a bit dissapointed and had only line on his lips: I wish I was there too.Deepak Thakur is not a new name to the Indian hockey. Ever since his magical hat-trick against Argentina in the final of Junior World Cup in 2001, the star forward of the Indian hockey team has established himself as a permanent member of the senior team as well.However, with stardom came pressure followed by, so often the case with Indian hockey players, injury. So, as his teammates grabbed all the spotlight on their return from Australia, Deepak, nursing an ankle injury, sat quietly at NIS, watching it all on TV.“It was very frustrating but I could do nothing. I literally cursed myself for getting injured ahead of such an important tournament,” the 23-year-old told The Indian Express from Patiala today.Deepak tore a ligament in his left ankle during a practice match in the Bombay Gold Cup and has been out of action since then.“It was my fault. Instead of taking rest, I went on to play two-three matches in the tourney and the injury got worse. Ultimately, it had to be plastered,” Deepak said.With Indian players already having a busy international calendar, the domestic championships turn out to be more or less a burden, a fact that’s acknowledged by Deepak.“During injury, recovery time is necessary. However, with so much of hockey being played these days, it gets a bit difficult for the players to recover fully. Moreover, one also loses enthusiasm, gets a hosts of other problems like stress, body burnout, etc., on playing continously without a break.”As Indians get ready for the Panasonic Cup in Germany, which starts from June 27, Deepak hopes to be back on the field soon.“Injury has more or less healed and I am practising hard these days under my coach Inderjit Singh Gill. I am just waiting for the call from Indian Hockey Federation,” he says optimistically.“We are playing good hockey these days, aren’t we? Our attacking strategy has done wonders for us recently and with junior and senior players gelling well together, there is no harm in setting our eyes on the gold medal at Athens, next year,” the confident youngster says before getting hold of his stick and leaving for a practice session.
