National Games bronze is sign of progress: Hockey Maharashtra

The Maharashtra hockey team welcomed by Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Mumbai officials at the airport on Thursday

The Maharashtra hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 36th National Games in Gujarat earlier this week, were welcomed with garlands on their arrival at the Mumbai airport on Thursday night by officials of Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Mumbai. The Devindar Walmiki-led state outfit picked up a medal at the National Games after 11 long years, when they beat Haryana 3-2 via shootout in Rajkot on Tuesday.

Also Read: India start favourite against Sri Lanka in pursuit of 7th Asia cup title

"It was a wonderful feeling to welcome our bronze medal-winning team. Some of these players have been together since their sub-junior days and that helped them combine well. This medal is also important because it is the culmination of nine years of hard work put in by our association. This medal is a sign of progess and will lay the foundation for the growth and promotion of hockey in all the 36 districts of Maharashtra," Hockey Maharashtra's senior vice president Manoj Bhore told mid-day on Friday.

"It's an emotional feeling to welcome this team home as an administrator today. The last time we won the bronze medal at the National Games [in 2011], I was the team's goalkeeper," said Hockey Maharashtra joint secretary and Olympian Adrian D'Souza.

"From here on, our focus will be on taking the game to the grassroot level across the state so that we can put together a good pool of youngsters right from the U-15 to the U-21 categories, who will one day don the India jersey," added D'Souza, who is also a board member of Hockey Mumbai Suburb.

Also Read: BCCI's Rs 955cr at stake if ICC doesn't get tax exemption