Sunil bids international goodbye

As the Indian hockey team head coach Graham Reid, buoyed by the catalytic bronze-medal win at the Tokyo Olympics, begins to build a new team, the seniors have started to make their exits. A day after Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra announced their international retirements, Karnataka’s SV Sunil followed suit but with a caveat.

“My body says I can still do it, my heart says go for it, but my mind says: Time to take a break. More than 14 years after I wore India colours for the first time, I’ve decided to make myself unavailable for the national camp which begins next week,” said Sunil on his Twitter handle which immediately was construed as a retirement announcement.

Sunil, however, told DH that while he has given up on longer format as Reid increasingly shifts his focus on energetic youngsters, he’s looking at furthering his career in 5-a-side hockey. “I want to clarify that I’m not retiring from international hockey altogether. Yes, I don’t see much hope for me in the traditional 11-a-side but I’m keen on representing the country in 5-a-side.

“I’m just 32 and there’s plenty of hockey still left in me. The 5-a-side hockey requires a completely different skill set. The dimensions are smaller, games are shorter and I’m keen on trying that out over the next few years. It’s yet to catch up in India so I really don’t know what’s in store for me. I will, of course, continue to play domestic hockey,” added Sunil who scored 72 goals in 264 internationals.

Hailing from a modest family in Somwarpet, Kodagu, Sunil had to scale several obstacles to don the national colours and then stay relevant for a better part of his 14-year career. Having lost his mother at a very young age Sunil, a son of a carpenter, first started playing the sport with bamboo sticks. Blessed with immense speed down the flanks, the wily Sunil’s career progressed at a decent pace before earning an India senior debut in the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.

The standout moments in two-time Olympian (2012, 2016) Sunil’s life are the gold-medal shows at the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy and 2014 Asian Games. He was part of the side that won silver medals at the 2016 and 2018 Champions Trophy as well as 2014 Commonwealth Games. Sunil managed to accomplish all this despite suffering two career-threatening knee injuries on both legs.

“I really don’t know how the 14 years have gone. I’ve seen a lots of ups and downs. I’ve lost family members and during the time when I was injured, I felt my career was done. But my friends, family and Hockey India have always stood by me and motivated me. I just never gave up. Like many players hailing from modest families, I had to endure plenty of struggles to get here.

“I wanted to sign off on a high. I really wanted to be a part of the Tokyo journey but it was not to be. I hoped for a better climax to a wonderful journey. It hurts but I have no regrets. I am what I am today because of hockey. The sport has given me everything in life and that’s why I was so mad about it and kept soldiering through various obstacles. Sadly, this is the end of it.”

Sunil’s retirement also means the end of an era, momentarily at least, for Karnataka hockey. Famed once for being a breeding ground of exceptional talents who have made the country proud, Sunil was the last remaining Karnataka player in the national senior probables list. Promising players in the last decade Nikkin Thimmaiah, Nithin Thimmaiah and SK Uthappa have fallen out of favour and there’s nobody exciting enough to make the probables cut. Sunil says it's a tragic scenario but was confident things will change in the coming years.

“When I was playing, we had 4-5 players from the state playing for the national team which was good. The problem was the state started underperforming at the nationals and as a result selectors wouldn’t spot talents. VR Raghunath (Hockey Karnataka vice-president) has been busy with programmes to boost grassroots talents. Things should change in the next few years and we should see Karnataka players back in the national set-up.”