MJWC: Khandekar's steel hardens Team India  x2
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| India |
July 1, 2005 
Mid-Day Mumbai, India
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Sundeep Misra
For those standing on the fence at pitch two at the Rotterdam Hockey Club on Thursday, they would have heard a distinct clink whenever Tushar Khandekar raced down the left flank brushing past Egyptian defenders, most of whom who were left clutching the air in Tushar’s wake.
Yesterday, India beat Poland 3-2.
Tushar’s father had passed away in Indore last Saturday. Apparently the young man had been hurriedly packed away by the Indian coach Harinder Singh with the message that his father was in a coma and he should visit him. The Indian team was then training at Frankfurt.
“I got a call from his relative Subodh Khandekar saying that Tushar’s father had passed away,” said Harinder. “I couldn’t tell him that, so we told him about the coma.”
Tushar attended his father’s funeral on Sunday and was back on Wednesday morning at Rotterdam ready to play for the reigning World Champions.
“I was amazed by the way he played against the Egyptians,” said Harinder. “During the entire 70 minutes, he showed a lot of commitment and determination.”
After a rusty first ten minutes, Tushar was in full flow, especially in the second half where he stretched the Egyptian left halves, sending in some breathtaking crosses.
Thrice, he went past three defenders, flipping the ball over their sticks in a superb display of skills. If he wasn’t in the scoring list, it wasn’t because he missed goals but had instead decided to take on the workload.
“Tushar’s performance will lift the team,” said Harinder. “The boys sense the commitment in him even after such a tragedy and will put in their best to support him.”
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