Film: India's Tribal Hockey Triumph http://www.journeyman.tv/film/8717 Transcript INTRODUCTION 00:06 In India’s remote tribal communities, there’s a sport that thrives… Introduced by missionaries in the 19th century, hockey is now ingrained in their culture And players from here excel, contributing to India’s hockey revival 00:28 Salima Tete: I remember those times when I used to go watch tournaments with my father and see the teams play. I started to think, “If they can play, then why can't I?” 00:39 After a four-decade Olympic medal drought, India reclaimed glory at the Tokyo Games. 00:46 Amit: After hitting rock bottom, hockey was now back on top. It was such a happy moment for us. 00:53 For young people here, the game offers a path to a brighter future.. 00:59 Deepak: To get selected for the national team and play for the country, that is my dream. VO 01:07 101 East reveals how hockey is changing the lives of India’s tribal players. OPENING TITLE 1:16 101 East 1:22 India's Tribal Hockey Triumph By Rudraneil Sengupta & Olivier Le Hellard VO 1:35 Deep in the forested tribal lands of Jharkhand, eastern India, a father makes a hockey stick for his daughter… 1:48 SOT Sulaksan Tete This is good quality. I used this bamboo for a hockey stick because the bit of wood at the bottom was curving upwards. That makes it suitable for playing. We’ve been playing hockey for generations. We’ve been making sticks with these for playing. My daughter played with a bamboo stick like this, with a fruit as a ball. That’s how she learnt hockey. 2:21 Sulakshan Tete, could not have imagined that 15 years after he carved her first hockey stick, his daughter Salima would become the captain of the Indian hockey team, and a star performer at the Tokyo Olympics…. 2:37 Rudraneil and Salima exchange Hi Salima. Hello. How are you? I’m very good, thank you. Your village is very beautiful. Yes, absolutely. This is my village. Is this your childhood home? Yes. This is my father and this is my family and this is my home. So you grew up here? Yes, I did. I was born here. These small children are playing with hockey sticks. You also used to play like this with a hockey stick? Yes, absolutely. I was like them. I used to go around holding a stick. I was passionate about playing. 3:11 Salima, who was voted Asian hockey’s emerging player of the year in 2023, is home on a short break before she rejoins the national team… We are meeting her family just days after her younger sister Mahima also got called to play for the Indian senior squad. Both sisters began with bamboo sticks made by their father, a local player of repute…. 3:39 I told him to make a good one for me. I used to sit and watch him. I think almost everyone knows how to make a hockey stick in our village. 3:51 The sisters learnt their skills playing on small pieces of cleared land… makeshift hockey arenas that locals call ‘chat’ grounds Salima Tete SOT 4:00 In any village around here, you’ll find a chat ground since everyone likes playing hockey. 4:06 Salima and Mahima are the newest torchbearers of the sport, in a region where hockey is not just a game but a way of life… 4:19 For generations, India’s tribal communities have lived on the margins. Even now, the road and rail network here is scant …. many villages still don’t have electricity …. and most families survive on subsistence farming and forest produce… But none of this stops the hockey culture from thriving here … every village has a field, every school has a hockey team, and local tournaments are passionate social events… 4:51 Salima SOT See these kids playing here? I used to be small like them when I used to go play with my father, sitting on the back of his bicycle. I remember those times when I used to watch tournaments with my father and see the teams play. I started to think, “If they can play, then why can't I?” I also used to carry my hockey stick. When the match ended, I would dribble on the ground. I believe poverty can teach you a lot of things. We can learn even if we are poor, we can reach these heights. I’ve made it to this level thanks to a bamboo stick. 5:23 VO This ground is where Salima first played hockey…It’s largely empty today, because most families are at church… 5:33 RUDRANEIL PTC In these remote tribal areas of eastern India, villages are typically small…not more than a hundred people or so. But no matter how small the village, you’ll always find two things in them. One is a rough and ready hockey field and the other is a mud house that serves as a church. 5:51 VO It was the church that brought hockey to Hindu-majority India. In the mid-19th century, Christian missionaries discovered that tribal societies played a similar game, involving hitting a ball-shaped fruit with bamboo sticks. Hockey became a powerful way for them to draw children to mission schools and foster unity among villages. By the 1890s, hockey was well established. In a rare photo of tribal hockey players from that time, a missionary, Reverend Whitley (Whit-LEE) can be seen with his team from the Jharkhand Mission, after they won the 1897 hockey tournament in the British colonial capital of Kolkata. 6:38 VO More than a hundred years later, that tradition is serving the Indian national team well… 6:44 UPSOT: Everyone in this box. 6:47 At their training base in Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha, the men’s national team is working hard on drills to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics As the defensive lynchpin, Amit Rohidas forms the backbone of this team… Amit comes from the tribal district of Sundergarh in Odisha… 7:10 Amit Rohidas I started playing when I was a child. I was about four or five years old. My father was a hockey player and he played in village tournaments. I learnt the game after seeing my father play and I used to carry his stick. We didn't have a ball at that time. So, we used to collect all the plastic waste and melt it in a pan. When it became a bit cold, we used to shape it like a sphere. So, we used to play with that ball. 8:01 VO It’s a different story today. Inside the sports science unit at the national team’s training facility, Amit has the use of cutting-edge technology and know-how… like being tested for biomechanical imbalances… 8:14 Ambience Sports Analyst Right and left hip flexion is less. But your right is not extending properly. Because of that you’re not getting the height. 8:23 It’s a far cry from where Amit started – the tribal belt of central and eastern India are some of the country’s poorest…exploited for timber, forest produce and minerals… these areas have a long history of conflict between government forces and armed rebels… 8:45 AMIT SOT We didn't have enough food to eat three times a day. Even two meals a day was tough. We didn’t have land. It was a very difficult time for us. So, my father went to Goa to work. He worked on a fishing ship. My mother had nothing. She worked as an agricultural labourer or construction worker to earn her daily wage. 9:19 VO 400kms from the Indian team’s training camp is Amit’s village Saunamara, where we meet his mother, Golapi… 9:29 GOLAPI WALKTHROUGH/INTERACTION WITH RUDRANEIL This is the house we lived in. My six daughters and sons were all born here in this thatched-roof hut. We were living in extreme poverty. You had no land? No, we were labourers on other people’s land. After Amit did well in hockey, we were able to build this house. R: And it’s all thanks to hockey. Yes. 9:56 VO The story of how Amit got his first hockey stick captures the difficulties of life in tribal villages… 10:03 Golapi SOT He used to make sticks from the Kendu tree. I was sitting under the tree and Amit had climbed up to cut branches. Somehow, he fell off the tree and lost consciousness. 10:20 Amit SOT My mother was very scared. She didn't know what to do. There was a main road where the vehicles used to pass by. It had potholes and the rainwater had accumulated in the holes. She folded the leaves to make a bag, collected water and brought it to me, so that I could drink. 10:37 Golapi SOT I took him to the hospital, and I needed money. I had no money. I had to go to a local moneylender and plead with him for 50 rupees (60 cents). 10:50 VO Amit quickly recovered and his passion for hockey only grew. … When he was just 10 years old, he was scouted for a government program to develop talented players…and accepted into a residential hockey training academy a couple of hours drive from his village, where all expenses are paid for… 11:10 Rudraneil question How did the game change your life, and the lives of your family members? 11:15 Amit sot I started playing professionally. I got some money from playing in the Indian Hockey League. Then I built a house so that we could live properly. My first aim was to build a house and buy a bike so that it would be easy to travel. Then I got us an electric connection and slowly our situation changed. 11:41 VO He also helped two of his siblings complete their education. 11:45 Amit SOT I told them, “I will support your education, you can study as much as you want.” My brother and sister both finished their university degrees. 11:52 Golapi SOT Everything changed because Amit did well at hockey. It changed our lives. 12:04 VO Sporting success not only lifts families out of poverty - it can transform entire communities … Salima’s village was just a smattering of mud huts before her Olympic debut. 12:18 Salima SOT Earlier, there was no electricity or concrete road here. It was a mud road. When it rained, you couldn’t drive cars on these roads. When I had to go for my games, it was difficult to travel. But things are alright now. The only thing that we don't have here is a mobile network. If you try to call, you won't be able to get through. 12:41 VO Hockey once defined India as a sporting nation – its men’s team remains the most successful in Olympic history, having won eight gold medals, six of those without losing a game between 1928 and 1956… Then, there was a long slide… As hockey moved from grass fields to artificial turf in the late 1970s and ‘80s, India fell behind… For decades, the once mightiest team in the world struggled on the international stage, and the medals dried up…. When Amit joined India’s national team, he dreamt of reviving the country’s legacy. But then, a personal tragedy struck. 13:30 AMIT SOT While I was preparing for the Olympics, my father died in October 2020. Everything went dark for me. I asked for my coach’s permission, explained to him what had happened and told him I needed to go home. I got there the next morning for my father’s last rites. I stayed there for two weeks and took care of all the work that needed to be done. I then came back, joined the camp and started preparing for the Olympics. My brain wasn’t functioning. After the Olympic squad was announced, we had a meeting. Everyone shared their dreams, spoke about their journey to join the team. I told them my father had a dream, that his son would be part of the Indian team. And that he would see me play in the Olympics. VO 14:50 At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, the dream came true - India’s men’s team won a bronze medal, its first at the Olympics in 41 years… 15:06 Amit SOT After hitting rock bottom, hockey was now back on top. It was such a happy moment for us. We celebrated a lot. Words cannot describe the celebrations we had on the ground. 15:21 VO Back home… hockey is creating a remarkable transformation in Amit’s state Odisha… Where he once played bare-foot on rough ground with a home-made stick … children now begin their hockey journeys on Astroturf… Vineel Krishna is in charge of this ambitious government project to develop the state’s hockey infrastructure. 15:42 Vineel Krishna SOT The slide in the Indian team's fortune, you can clearly say that the introduction of astroturf actually brought it on. Naturally when someone is playing on mud or a grass turf, and shifts to the astroturf, there is going to be a transition period and the transition will also affect their own skills and their performance. So we started building these hockey training centres with astroturfs in our tribal areas. So, if you visit any of these hockey training centres you will see that kids now of 7-8 years age who are just getting into hockey, now they start playing on astro-turf. And this makes a whole lot of difference. This is the advantage that we wanted to give. 16:30 VO Alongside the new astroturf fields, there’s been a huge rise in government academies to nurture young talent. In the last three years, the number of academies in Odisha has grown from just 3 to 25. 16:48 PTC If the beginnings of hockey culture here can be found in the villages, the next step up is a place like this - a state-run hockey academy… or hostel as they call it…boys and girls under the age of 16 get scouted or put through trials to make it here…and once they’re here… it's all about intense hockey coaching. 17:10 Morning sequence at hostel 15-year-old Deepak Pradhan comes from a village not far from Amit’s…. Born to a family of farmers, Deepak also started playing hockey with a bamboo stick …by the time he was 8, Deepak knew he wanted to make the national team At 13, he was selected for this academy. His education, coaching, travel and equipment is all funded by the state… 17:37 Exchange with Deepak What's your plan for today? Basic skills will be reinforced today. Passing and receiving, attacking from one point to another, we’ll be going through these drills. 17:53 COACH AMBIENCE We’ll start with warming up today. It’s Monday, it’s a fresh day. Let’s begin with the hockey warm up. 18:02 Deepak dreams of following in Amit’s footsteps. 18:08 Deepak SOT I had always dreamed of joining the hostel So when I got accepted to this hostel, I was very happy. R question: Why do you think coming to the hostel is important as a hockey player? Coming to these hostels gives us a better chance of joining the Indian national team through proper training. We don’t get these opportunities in our villages. It’s from here that people make it to the national, international stage. 18:31 Coach Anything? Do you have anything to say? OK. Enjoying it? That is important! 18:39 This training academy is just the first step in Deepak’s hockey journey …identified as one of the ten most promising players among hundreds here, …he’s been selected for a more advanced training school…Today is his last session at this centre…and his coach shares a few final words of encouragement.. 19:01 INTERACTION WITH DEEPAK AND COACH You should be happy. It's a good centre because you will get training in psychology, nutrition and it’s better than here. You have three more years. Your target should be the junior nationals team by next year and for that, you have to work a lot. Build a good foundation, you will achieve your goals. Anyhow, you should have passion for the game. Always be happy. All the best, do well. Good luck! 19:35 SOT DEEPAK Both my mum and dad are very happy that I’m doing this. From very early on, they’d tell me to focus on the game…. They know that players these days get a lot of recognition. To get selected for the national team and play for the country, that is my dream. 19:53 While Deepak prepares to move further away from home to chase his ambitions, the national team is counting down the days until the Paris Olympics. Their coach is former South African Olympian Craig Fulton. 20:10 Craig Fulton I’ve personally been watching India for a long time and watching their progression and yeah. They’re on the up definitely and to come into it knowing that they won a medal in Tokyo and to now the expectation of India is huge obviously. But at the same time, I can't worry about the expectation. All I can worry about is what I can control with the group. 20:32 The team’s formidable goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, knows exactly what it takes to compete on the world’s biggest stage…this will be his fourth Olympics… 20:43 SREEJESH SOT See, it's a really hard period for us. Don't go by my smile. Now the harder we work, the sweeter it’s going to be during the Olympic games. It's a long journey, you know. We started from scratch and now we are in the top four.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] I’m just waiting for that medal and I wanted to get a perfect tattoo on my forearm. 21:04 VO Amit, who has the Tokyo bronze medal on one arm, is also keen to get inked again. 21:10 I played in the Olympics and won the medal. So, I drew a tattoo of the Olympics logo and a picture of the medal, so that it could be a memory. 21:21 Rudraneil question Your other forearm is empty. What tattoo will you get there? 21:26 AMIT SOT That’s the suspense. We will see what happens. 21:34 As Amit gets ready for his Olympic challenge, Deepak’s last tournament before leaving the academy is a rite of passage in tribal hockey....the Khasi Tournament….named after the coveted prize given to winners…a goat… 21:52 RUDRANEIL PTC For about six months from the end of monsoon to the beginning of summer next year, villages across this area come alive with local hockey tournaments called Khassi tournaments. We are at one such event and it's just about to kick off. 22:13 VO Tournaments like these keep the tribal culture of hockey alive…National stars, Amit and Salima picked up the game after watching their fathers play in Khasi tournaments… 22:27 SALIMA SOT I was probably 10 to 12 years old when I started playing in Khasi tournaments. It was a lot of fun. We would have a great time. When we came back to our village after winning, then we used to dance. We enjoyed it a lot. I can't forget that pleasure. 22:43 AMIT SOT There were tournaments where the prize would be coconuts or hens. We reached the finals of many tournaments, so we won many hens. We would celebrate our victory and eat together on a special day. 23:03 VO For Deepak, now used to the smoothness of astroturf, a chat ground presents its own challenges… 23:13 Deepak SOT After playing on astroturf every day, it’s a bit difficult here. It’s a bit bumpy and I’m not able to control the ball. But after playing for 10, 15 minutes, I can control it better. 23:29 VO With the talented Deepak making his presence felt in each game…his team wins the local tournament… On this dusty field, another Olympic dream is in the making… Win or lose, everyone is invited to share in the celebrations…. and the unfettered joy of their favourite sport. © 2024 Journeyman Pictures Journeyman Pictures Ltd. 4-6 High Street, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0RY, United Kingdom Email: info@journeyman.tv