Madikeri: Few are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Few carve their future on their own. But here is one who carved branches of trees to make hockey sticks and plucked raw fruits in nearby plantations to convert them into hockey balls in his childhood and entered the world stage to create a niche for himself in the field of hockey.
Team India Hockey player SV Sunil

The hockey player is none other than SV Sunil, the forward of the current Indian hockey team. Being the son of a carpenter he used to see players coming over to his home town Somwarpet in Kodagu (Coorg) district. Little Sunil, while watching seniors play the game, used to wonder and wander simultaneously. Wander in search of a tree branch which he could convert into a hockey stick and wonder looking at the raw fruit which could withstand plenty of his dribbles in the paddy fields of his hometown. Whenever he got an opportunity, he used to run towards the playing zone, ‘the magi fields’ which are nothing but dry paddy fields.

Sunil, the youngest in the family received lot of support from his elder sibling Suresh even after losing their mother in early childhood. Suresh would do everything under the sun, to ensure that his little brother gets an opportunity to grow and prosper in the sport he loves. At this point, Former state Player Manohar Murthy and Janardhan, a player from Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) Unit in Belgaum became his mentors. Suresh went and sold his gold ornaments to buy a stick and pair of shoes for Sunil. Knowing the poor condition of the family, Blue star Hockey club seniors SB Yashwanth and BM Suresh reached out and encouraged Sunil.

Little Sunil got his first break in 1998 as MLI had arranged a camp to recruit sportspersons under a program titled SPORT and DEFENCE. Sunil got through in the selection trials and his friends urged Sunil to proceed to Belgaum. His dad Vittal Achar opposed the move as he wanted his son beside him to help him in his profession. It was Suresh who convinced Sunil to proceed and not worry about the home front.

In the year 2002 Sunil came back on a holiday and took part in a training camp held at Pollibetta, a small town in Kodagu. Manohar introduced him to Raghunath and both trained Sunil in that camp and provided vital inputs to enter the big league. Sunils’s life changed once for all. He made phenomenal progress in his game and even now remembers the duo a lot.

When he was selected for the National team in 2007, he wasn’t even aware of his selection. He went to his relatives place in Udupi at that time. A journalist in association with the present Town Panchayath member Ravi Chandra managed to locate him and informed him of his selection for the national team.

Sunil realized his dream as India entered the finals of a major tournament, Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. When the tournament was in progress, Sunil lost his father. He did not return to take part in the last rites of his father, instead was determined to win the trophy. Tears rolled down Sunil’s eyes as India became the champions to lift the Azlan Shah Cup and the entire team joined Sunil in dedicating the trophy to his father who had passed away during the tourney.

Kodagu has offered plenty of talent for defense and sport and has few players in the current national hockey team which lost in the finals to Australia in the recently concluded champion’s trophy hockey tournament. Hockey is part of life for many in the small district known for coffee and in fact it’s a family sport. Tournaments’ are held between families and the fight for supremacy and the camaraderie associated with the event in the pristine locales of the district is a real joy to watch.

Life’s difficulties did not come in the way for Sunil as he squeezed every bit of his energy to reach his goal. Born on May 6, 1989 Sunil has 187 international caps and 59 international goals to his credit till date.