India is expected to win a medal in men's hockey at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, but the health of the sport at the grassroots level is still far from desired. Hockey Australia, however, has been providing excellence at the entry level for about a year, through funding from their Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In conjunction with Tata Steel, they are working in Jharkhand and Odisha to spot talent, distribute hockey sticks, ensure good health and nutrition through a hockey programme and even encourage girls to pick up the stick. A bunch of 30 talented kids, trained by Hockey Australia is now in the Tata Hockey Academy and the Aussies are looking to make this a sustained effort to produce a greater number of Indian internationals from this region. Rica Roy spoke to the participation manager of Hockey Australia.
