I was excited when I saw the World Series Hockey advertisement for the first time on Neo sports tv channel. Hockey which used to be our national game (still the official one) lost its shine in the midst of cricket and WSH can be the best effort to reinvigorates the people's interest in this game. Unfortunately this effort is struggling between Indian Hockey Federation and Hockey India tussle. Still it managed to make an impact on Indian sports arena.
Last week I planned to go for watching the WSH hockey match with my office teammates and family. We booked the tickets for Karnataka Lions and Mumbai Marines match. I was little apprehensive if people will like a hockey match or even if there will be a crowd in stadium. So before going for match, I googled the basic rules of Hockey and shared with the team. On 8th March late evening, before hockey match, we had a good dinner in "Under The Mango Tree" restaurant in Richmond road which is very near to the Shantinagar Hockey stadium. After that we went to the stadium. Once I reached to the parking area, it was a louder noise coming from the ground. Quickly we moved inside and took our seat. Stadium which is having eight thousand capacity was almost filled. People were very enthusiasts. The turf was of international level though stands were ordinary one. Match was already in action and people were cheering for the home team and famous player Dhanraj Pillai in particular. Local folk drummers and beautiful cheerleaders were raising the people's enthusiasm. Karnataka team was leading in the first quarter but lost by 1-2 goals with a dominating performance by Mumbai in last two quarter. A local fan who looked like a die-hard supporter and old hockey addict, was shouting a lot. In all these noise I was feeling good to see so many enthusiast people watching and appreciating hockey.