Latest revision as of 14:53, 11 August 2021

[edit] Shahabad Town, 1908

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Town in the Thanesar tahsil of Karnal District, Punjab, situated in 30 10' N. and 76 52' E,, on the Delhi- Umballa-Kalka Railway, 16 miles south of Ambala. Population (1901), 11,009. The town was founded by one of the followers of Muhammad of Ghor at the end of the twelfth century. It is of no commercial importance. The municipality was created in 1867-8. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 10,900, and the expenditure Rs. 10,200. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 12,300, chiefly derived from octroi \ and the expenditure was Rs. 11,200. The town has a vernacular middle school and a dispensary.

[edit] The 21st century

[edit] Hockey

[edit] As in 2021

Himanshi Dhawan, With inputs from Hindol Basu, August 8, 2021: The Times of India

Shahabad, about 170km from Delhi, is a town like any other in Haryana. Parents prefer girls who keep their dupattas firmly in place, come home before dark and marry before they get too opinionated. Yet some girls have managed to trade their modest salwar kameezes for shorts and the rolling-pin for a hockey stick. All courtesy a patch of 91.4m x 55m astro turf at the Shahabad Markanda hockey stadium that has become a nursery for Indian hockey in the last three decades.

Now famous as the stomping ground of current hockey captain Rani Rampal, Shahabad has produced several other national and international-level players, including Rani’s teammates in the Olympic team Navjot Kaur and Navneet Kaur and former India men’s team captain Sandeep Singh.

Rani and her team’s performance this week may just have made the path less arduous for girls like 19-year-old Parashdeep Kaur from Sulakhni village who exudes confidence as she darts from one end of the stadium to the other. “It is my dream to represent India in the Olympics as a drag flicker,” she says. (Drag flick is a scoring technique.) And she’s putting in the hard work. Parashdeep is among the 300 girls and boys who train at the stadium every day come rain, shine or pandemic.

Girls’ team coach Neha says there is a growing interest among parents to send their daughters to train at Shahabad. “I have received 15-20 calls just this week, some from other states, seeking a place for their daughter at our stadium but I had to refuse,” she says. There’s simply no more room. On most days the stadium is packed to the rafters as children practise in two shifts —from 5:30am to 7:30am and then in the afternoon from 4pm to 7pm.

There’s nothing fancy about the facilities. The stadium has a couple of rooms for an office and some rudimentary gym equipment. It has neither provision for a hostel accommodation for children living away from Shahabad, nor does it provide food like it used to earlier. Yet the enthusiasm among children and their parents remains unwavering.

Government coach Sukhwinder Singh, who is training another 300 girls and boys at a ground near a local school, says demand has outstripped facilities and the area needs better infrastructure. “Our ground does not have an astro turf but yet parents want us to take in their children. If we refuse to take a child, they start crying and pleading,” he says. Hockey was not always this popular, especially in a cricket-crazy country like India. Veteran coach Baldev Singh, credited for training Rani and nearly 60 other international players during his 20-year stint at Shahabad, recalls spending hours convincing parents to send girls for practice. “I had to become a part of their family. If they fell ill, I visited them, if they didn’t have enough money, I provided milk or fruits, and if their parents were reluctant, I would try and talk sense to them,” he says. The 69-year-old says that initially his attempts at establishing a girls’ team was akin to a scandal. “But when the girls started performing at the national and international level, people shut up,” he says.

Even now Parashdeep is the only girl from her village who plays the sport and has been training for five years. “People keep telling my father that he should get me married. They comment on my clothes and the fact that I leave at 4am for practice but my family is very supportive.” Loveleen, 14, who has been playing since she was in class 6, says she is addicted to the game. She plays as a ‘deader’ who has to stop the penalty shot strategically so that the striker can hit a goal. Pressures of “settling down” might be on the mind of nosy relatives and neighbours but not her. “I want to play for India like Rani (Rampal) didi,” she says.

Coach Neha says that the mindset is slowly changing. “Even if the parents do not have enough food for themselves, they make sure the children get a good diet,” she says. Coach Baldev feels Indian hockey has come out of “ventilator support.” He adds, “We must use the momentum that the Olympics have brought to invest in better infrastructure and coaches for the future.”

The Indian women’s hockey team which narrowly missed out on a medal in Tokyo, need not despair. The fiery 16 have already ignited a passion in a million minds and hearts.

[edit] THEY ALL WANT TO BE LIKE RANI DIDI

The only hint that house no 2033/9 in New Model Town is no ordinary house is the five Olympic Rings on the wall that announce the occupant’s soaring ambition. Rani Rampal had them put up a couple of years before. The two-storeyed structure is a far cry from the thatched home that she spent her childhood in. But as Rampal, Rani’s father who used to be a cart puller, says, “We have not forgotten where we came from and neither has she.”

In Shahabad, Rani Rampal is almost like a superhero. There are no posters or banners laying her claim to the town and yet her name is on everyone’s lips. The Indian women’s hockey team captain is a favourite with all the players at Shahabad academy whether it is 9-year-old Ashna Kamboj or 14-year-old Kriti. “I visit her when she comes home for a break. She is so helpful and kind,”

Kirti says about ‘Rani didi.’ On her part, Rani credits her achievements to her days at Shahabad. “The Shahabad hockey academy will always be special to me. I learned everything about hockey there and I wouldn’t be where I am today without being coached by Baldev Singh sir. Those who have talent and the will to work hard will certainly make it to the top through the academy. That’s what is special about the place,” she says. — With inputs from Hindol Basu