'Sometimes I kept silent'

Veteran forward Rasel Mahmud Jimmy (R) and newly-appointed captain Krishno Kumar (L) look up as Pushkor Khisha brings out his cell phone for a selfie during the national hockey team's congregation at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, arguably the most talented hockey player of his generation, is determined to make his mark again as the national hockey team left for Malaysia yesterday for warm-up matches ahead of the Hockey World League (Round-2) in Singapore this month.

The 28-year-old forward feels relieved to be part of the national set-up again after serving a one-year suspension when he had to face a lot of queries from people around him.

“I faced a lot of questions from people around me. They wanted to know what was the problem, what happened to me, why I was not with the national team, how I felt staying away from the team, and so on. Sometimes I tried to give answers; sometime I kept silent and felt embarrassed. But now everything is past and I am happy to be part of the national team again,” said Jimmy at the team's congregation at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium on the eve of their departure yesterday.

“Now everyone including my parents is waiting to see how I perform in the upcoming tournaments.  it is a challenge for me to do well and get back to my old self,” said a determined Jimmy, who was named as the best midfielder in the 2013 Hockey World League (Round-2) in Delhi.  

When asked what would inspire him to do well after being out of action for one year, Jimmy said it was the game itself that meant most. “I am what I am today because of the national team. People beyond the country know me due to hockey. Playing for the national team is the first inspiration for me and the second one is my hockey family where my father (former national hockey player Sona Mia) is a motivation,” said Jimmy.

Jimmy is hopeful that the national team would put up a good performance compared to those of the recent past as he felt the coaches have had excellent work on fitness of the players, which is the main strength of this squad.

“Generally we collapse in the last quarter of the game due to lack of fitness. But this time our coaches worked on that area apart from how to press on the opposition and how to defend and I think we will play better than the recent past,” said Jimmy.