Winning laurels remains his goal always

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He may have been a forward on the hockey field, but it is to be seen whether the sport will take him forward in life. P. Damu, 21 from a slum in Sathyamurthi Nagar, in Vyasarpadi, has been working hard on the sport for the last 10 years.

“I want to do well for Tamil Nadu in the next senior national championship and try to enter the Indian camp. My goal is to represent the country,” said Damu, currently playing for IOB as a guest player.

Recently, the lanky youth won the player of the tournament award at a state-level hockey tournament by scoring goals in all the three games that IOB played in. He has also represented Tamil Nadu in senior national championships, where they reached the quarterfinals.

However, life has not been rosy. Having lost his father at age 2, Damu and his younger brother P. Rajesh were raised single-handedly by their mother Pushpalatha, who works as maid.

“After noticing my clean walking and running strides, my maternal uncle asked my mother to put me in a sports hostel when I reached class 8,” said Damu, who grew up at YMCA sports hostel in Nandanam till class 12.

Later, he got Sports Authority of India scholarship that helped him stay at Nehru Stadium and practise. He also pursued his BBA degree at SRM University, getting a seat through sports quota.
Damu is now trying to join the centre of excellence in hockey in Bengaluru that would support his training and offer boarding and lodging.

“How can he play hockey if he takes up a job? I want him to get a job only through sports quota. My ambition is to see him succeed as a hockey player,” said his mother, adding that her son always saved part of the money given to him as daily allowance to add to the family kitty.

“Damu has a lot of potential. He is capable of playing for India. He has excellent grasping power and stamina,” said hockey Olympian Adam Sinclair. To motivate the young hockey star, call 97890-88622.