Ravipal, who is in the Indian camp for the Asian Games is from village Sansarpur, which has produced 14 Olympians (nine for India, four for Kenya and one for Canada)—the last one being Ajit Pal Singh in 1976.
By Rohit Sakunia
He grew up chasing the desire to play for the nation, to wear the national jersey. To cherish his dreams, he first took on to the hockey field with an old stick, which his father bought for him some 20 years back. His passion for the game was admirable, as he would spend hours practicing with the village lads, aiming to carry the legacy of his village seniors, which somehow was losing sheen over the last three decades.
Even after entering the side, Ravipal knows he has to go a long way if he wants to get close to emulating his illustrious seniors. Making to the team and playing a few international tournaments was never the only thing on his mind. The dream and ambitions were much higher. He knows that the need of the hour for him is to perform consistently and to make his place a regular in the side.
At the end of the day there is huge pressure on this young Sansarpur lad because even an underperformance would not do justice to his place, a place known to produce stars. Sansarpur has produced 14 Olympians (nine for India, four for Kenya and one for Canada)—the last one being Ajit Pal Singh in 1976.
Ravi made his debut in the Eight-Nation Tournament in Holland in August 2005. This he says was dreams come true moment, but more challenging would be how this BPCL player now performs to secure his place in the team that hasn't seem more downs than ups in the last five years.
"I know it would be tough to make my presence felt. But I am not deterred. I have been playing well and I have been part of the Indian team on many occasions since I made my debut in 2005. Therefore, I have the confidence of playing my role to the optimum," said the mild natured youngster, who is undergoing training in the national camp in Delhi.
"I am from the village which was Mecca of hockey from long. It has produced legendary players like Ajit Pal Singh, Tarsem Singh, Balbir Singh et al. So it's natural that we as youngsters took to hockey naturally. I am happy to be carrying the legacy of my seniors in my own small way," said the Sansarpur lad who has found a place in the team announced for both the 2010 Commonwealth Games (in which the team did bag a Silver Medal) and the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou sooner.
One of the players who seem to have the confidence of Coach Harendra Singh, Ravipal started playing hockey at the Thapar Academy under coaches Ranjit Singh and Lakhwinder Singh. Later, he was spotted by Rajinder Singh (Jr)--who was then the coach of Punjab and Sind Bank--during a village tournament and Ravipal shifted to P&SB Hockey Academy in January 2002. He soon gained the coach's confidence and was promoted to the senior team after around one-and-a-half years.
Since then Ravipal became an integral member of the P&SB team before finally shifting his allegiance to BPCL in 2006. Ravi was also a member of Chandigarh Dynamos in all the editions of PHL so far.
So what would be his approach towards the game now? "I will give my hundred percent and try to avail every opportunity that will come my way," says the youngster confidently.
Like all passionate athletes, this 27-year-old is also very hurt of the fact that India missed qualifying for last Olympics in Beijing and one of his major aims now is to contribute to the team and make sure they win the Gold at Asian Games in Guangzhou and make it to the London Olympics directly.
“We are looking forward to winning gold at the Asian Games and making it to London directly without the pressure of qualifiers. I think we have the capability to do it. I would love to contribute in a big manner and am sure that the kind of form the team is in, we will make it in China,” concluded the quick moving forward while being at the camp in the Dhyanchand stadium in Delhi.
