GOLD !!!

'Sapna nahi tootna chaiye, hausla nahi tootna chaiye.' 'Fauz banaa rahein ho.' 'Yeh turup ka ikka hain, isse sahi samay pe istemaal karna hain.' 'Hum hockey se pyar karte hain, aapna desh se pyar karta hain.' 'Yeh nayi peedi joh hain na, yeh aapna sapna poora karegi.' 'Tum sab log joota utaaro.' 'Kaisa bangaali ho tum, itna fish khaata hain, phir bhi akal nahi.' 'Main Lahore se wapas nahi aaoonga.' 'Angrezo se dosho saal puraani ghulami ka badla lena hain.' 'Bada khiladi woh hee nahi hota, joh ball ko goal mein maarey; bada khiladi woh bhi hain joh ball ko wahan tak poucha de, jidhaar se goal diya jaa sakta hain.' 'Aab unka desh, unhi ka maidan mein, unhi ka public ke saamne unko haarayega.' 'Khelega na; sahi samay pe !' 'Lekin mujhe bahut acche khiladi nahi chaiye, mujhe sab se acche khiladi chaiye.' 'Baap ka maal samajh ke line kheechta chala gaya.' 'Samjhe tum log, sirf yeh mehenat, koshish aur talent se kuch nahi hota, kaam aasaan hota hain teamwork se.' 'Tum abhi bhi nahi samjha na, toh zindagi me kabhi bhi nahi samajh sakta.'

Three times Champion; but, in all the three times, their British flag got the credit, not the Bharatiya Tiranga. Those Indians didn't  give any salute to the Fuhrer at Berlin in the year of 1936. Due to the 2nd World War, the consecutive two Olympics Games got cancelled. The Indian Hockey Federation chargesheeted Tapan Das for fund mismanagement. Somewhere in the darkness, a ray of hope came in. India was on the verge of getting independence. Tapan Das took the charge to form the team. The 'Partition' partitioned their team too. 'Aab bechaara kabootar o kya maaloom, upar shanti ke liye udhta hain, par neeche kaisa jung chalta hain.' India got freedom, but, British people partitioned a portion of India to create Pakistan, a new Muslim Kingdom. Samrat stepped in to help the Bangaali. 'Hockey ko support karein ya na karein, insaan ko support jaroor karega.' The Buddhist monk responded, 'Kya Samrat ji swayam jaa raha hain.' 'Samrat ji ki darshan hogi, aagya hain.' The financial problems got solved temporarily due to the helping hand from the Monk. 

Hai Monobina, kaise rahega hain Tapan Babu, tumhre binaa. 'Naino se baandhe kaisi dor re, munsif hi mera, mera chor re, dil pe chale na koi zor re, kheencha chala jaaye teri ore re.' Kaun hain aasli Central Forward ! There was lack of unity inside the team. Finally, they understood the power of a teamwork. Who requested Tapan Das to entertain everyone with a beautiful song ? 'Yeh behavoiur tolerate nahi kiya jaa sakta.' Who went to London as the Hockey Team Manager ? 'Angrezi Maidhak !' The Indian Hockey Team of 1948 London Olympics was missing whom ? 'Tapan, tumhara zaroorat hain.' For the first time in Olympics history, Indian Hockey team was going to play as 'India', not as 'British India'. The British Government was very much aware of the fact that some strong players of British India are in both the Indian squad and the Pakistani squad. So, they took a strategy to keep India and Pakistan in two different groups so that either of India or Pakistan will get knocked out before the final match, to give Great Britain a chance to play the final match, at least.

India started their campaign against Spain. India stormed into the Semi-Final of 1948 London Olympics, where they had to play against Netherlands. In the other Semi-Final match, Great Britain faced Pakistan. Imtiaz Shah, one of the best hockey players of British India Team was now playing for Pakistan Team. Imtiaz fought well, but, alas, Great Britain reached the final. Substitution before the start of the match ! The ego fights inside a team surely hampers the team's performance. One of the keywords to success towards the end of the tournament is 'Unpredictability'. Some players are kept reserved intentionally to utilize them as surprise packages for the opponent team. Against Netherlands, the stick of that defender saved India from getting knocked out. Though, India was lucky enough to reach the final. Just when the players were feeling over-confident and complacent, Tapan Das pointed out their mistakes. Aab toh Raghuvir ke paas hain Himmat. Be United, be Brave, be Patriotic, be Bold; to win for your India nation, the medal made of “GOLD”.