Dhanraj scores a goal at home

An excited bunch of students from Symbiosis Primary School and Alphonsa High School welcomed Pillay as he walked through an arc that the students formed with hockey sticks. A standing ovation and a thundering round of applause awaited the star when he walked into the auditorium. Sharing the stage with him were, S B Mujumdar, founder, Symbiosis Society, former Air Chief Marshal H Moolgavkar, his mentor Joaquim Carvalho and Shantanu Datta, Resident Editor, The Indian Express, Pune.

Though perceived as a game not half as popular as the other sports, Mujumdar made a point saying, ‘‘There are 198 countries in the world of which 90 play football, 14 play cricket while 114 play hockey!’’ And the auditorium broke into cheers when he referred to Sachin Tendulkar as ‘‘The Dhanraj Pillay of cricket.’’ Moolgavkar stated that, ‘‘Dhan is a legend setting an example and standard for the toughest most players in the country.’’

It was a trip down memory lane for Carvalho as he narrated anecdotes from this ‘diamond’s early days.’ ‘‘If I were the coach of the present team, I would put a tag around him saying, ‘fragile—handle with care’ because diamonds like him are to be treasured forever.’’

One could see Dhanraj savouring every moment while he spotted his teachers, colleagues, old team mates and those who have been close to him. ‘‘I owe my success to my mother, Andalamma and my mentor Joaquim Carvalho.’’ Recalling his days as a beginner, Dhanraj said, ‘‘It’s not only my sport that I was trained in but I had to be groomed in every aspect of my personality.’’

After which people from all walks of life climbed on to the stage to honour him. Right from young fans who wanted his blessings to his former headmistress, Sharda Sharma of SVS High School who wanted to celebrate the victory of her ‘shy’ student. They sure made his day special.

Inspired by Pillay, 14-year-old Deenanath Katare will undertake a cycling expedition from Pune to Delhi. He met his idol too. Also cheering for the ‘favourite son’ were the Indian Centre for Telecom Management (ICTM).

Wanting to introduce her son to her idol, farmer Titiksha Nagarkar gave Pillay a garland of 11 fruits from her farm. The students at Pune College of Engineering took back something to treasure in the form of Pillay’s autograph.