“Sorry sir, I couldn’t bring home a medal”
LUCKNOW: The new queen of Indian junior hockey Mumtaz Khan received a rousing reception as she landed on home soil here in Lucknow on Thursday morning. She first wanted to see her family and the coach couple Rashid Aziz Khan and Neelam Siddiqui.
An emotional 19-year-old Mumtaz hugged Khan at the Lucknow airport and uttered only one sentence: “Sir, I am sorry as I couldn’t come back home with a medal, but for sure the next time I will come with a medal for you.” Siddiqui couldn’t make it to the airport.
Despite scoring a brace in the match against England on Tuesday evening, India’s dream of reclaiming a bronze medal at the FIH Junior World Cup went up in smoke. India lost 0-3 in the shootout to England after both teams were locked 2-2 at the end of the regulation time at Potchefstroom (South Africa).
In fact, the disappointment of not winning a medal vanished as soon as Mumtaz, India’s highest scorer in the tournament with eight goals, including a hat-trick, saw her own people, dancing and celebrating her success at the airport.
“I don’t have words to describe this love and affection of people. In fact, after seeing them so excited, I forgot the pain of not winning a medal in South Africa. I hope people would continue to shower their love on me as that would keep me motivated to work harder. My performance will definitely inspire the youth and children who want to advance in the sport,” she said.
Mumtaz, however, said till the last few seconds of the match India were winning, but things changed dramatically. “With only 100 seconds to go in the match we were winning and were quite close to the medal, but things changed suddenly. Within minutes, we were too far from the podium,” Mumtaz said in an emotional tone.
“We couldn’t win a medal at the World Cup. But I am satisfied that we all put our best foot forward. We have learnt a lot from the defeat in the semi-finals and then the bronze medal tie. Our players made small mistakes in many places. And now those mistakes have to be rectified,” she said.
Mumtaz, who has seen many up and downs, including a serious injury lay-off in her short career, said she would like to continue her good run in other junior events for the country. “When you play for your country, it’s a great feeling. I would love to continue my good work in future events also,” said Mumtaz, who has age on her side to play in the 2023 Junior World Cup.
“Though I would be playing many junior events in the future, I am focused on my mission to achieve success at the 2023 Junior World Cup. By that time, I would be 21 and eligible to play the event,” she said.
“For sure, I won’t be coming back home without a medal from the 2023 event,” she said confidently.
Mumtaz, however, said that now she shouldn’t be recognized as the daughter of vegetable vendor, but as a hockey player of the country. “It’s too much when people write about me as the daughter of a vegetable vendor. I have got my image now. I would love to be recognized as hockey player,” said Mumtaz, who will join the national camp in Bengaluru next week.
Coach Khan too was emotional on meeting Mumtaz. “Winning or losing is part of sport, but Mumtaz played wonderful hockey and made India proud by becoming the highest scorer for the team,” said Khan, a coach with Lucknow’s Sports Authority of India centre. “It’s just the beginning for her. I pray that she continues getting success. The sky is the limit for her,” he said.