NAME: Sharang Goel

CLASS: 12
SECTION: B
CLASS ROLL NO: 11
BOARD ROLL NO: 135

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROJECT

Description of a sporting event
 INTRODUCTION
The world cup is undeniably the most
prestigious sporting event in the world, no
matter what sport you talk about. The
Junior Hockey world cup 2016 held in
Lucknow would prove to be of the most
important events in the history of Indian
Hockey where the expectations where low
and the sport was dying, but the most
unexpected result not only led to great
expectations from the future but also the
revival of the sport of Hockey in India.
 Description of a sporting
event
It was the 16th of November, 2016 when the
Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup was
announced to be held in Uttar Pradesh,
Lucknow, the city of my residence. I, myself
was an avid hockey fan who would attend not
only every hockey match that, but any and all
sporting events that would be held in the city.
Tickets to the games were arranged for and
the Indian team unexpectedly won all its
games in a fairly one-sided manner.
The top 2 teams from pools A, B, C and D
were to qualify for the quarter finals and the
Indian team made it through comfortably,
placing first in their pool and even won the
quarter final against Spain. But we were up
for our toughest challenge next. India had to
face Australia in the semi-final.
 Not only was Australia ranked number one in
the world in hockey but India’s history against
Australia in modern day hockey was poor to
say the least. I remember going with my
friends as my father drove us to the stadium
which was half way across the city, but he
also knew that this could be a once in a
lifetime opportunity. We arrived at the
stadium two hours before the match because
we knew that the stands would be full before
we would know it, and we were correct.
Hardly did I have a short conversation about
the expectations I had from the match with
my friends when the seats started to fill. The
low murmurs of a few spectators turned into
a huge crowd chanting words of strength for
the Indian side. The atmosphere turned
electric. The turf, deep blue, seemed to be
just as fresh must have been on the day it was
placed. The flood lights were on, the crowd
 was roaring and the winter was as chilly as it
had ever been. There was no doubt about it;
the scene for an intense, high-stake match
had been set. The players entered, the
Australians in their usual golden tops and
green shorts and the Indians in all blue attire,
aptly known as the “men in blue”. The hooter
blew, the crowd went wild and the players
visibly trying to control the emotions they
were feeling, playing in front of fifty thousand
spectators cheering and shouting till their
throats went dry. The first few tackles went in
and a fair number of chances were created by
both sides but nothing came off it as the first
quarter of the game came to a close. The one
conclusion that could be drawn from the first
quarter was that the game was not going to
be defined by the statistics of the past. Then
terror struck! Only a few seconds into the
second quarter, the Aussies managed to
 score. The chanting crowd turned to silence,
stunned faces of thousands of Indians
spectators could be seen as the Australian
team celebrated their goal. I as well watched
in silence but with an indescribable sense of
hope within, despite being a goal down to the
good. The game progressed with the same
chances being created as they were in the
first quarter of the game but neither side
seemed to be able to take advantage. The
whistle for the commencement of the final
quarter started as the crowd of Indian
supporters found its voice again, ready to give
it all to support their side. What happened
next is something you thought could only
happen in movies, a moment you cannot
explain through anything but by calling it
magic. An Indian player managed to intercept
an aerial pass and alone using nothing but
pure individual skill managed to find the back
 of the Australian goal. The defense of the
Australians stood still as the crowd found its
voice in a way like no other, ecstatic and
jocund like the match had been won. There
was still work to do and the Indian team knew
it. With great passage of play and an amazing
display of individual skill, the Indians
managed to score again. Now we started to
believe, now we started to think that the
unthinkable might just happen and we would
be there to witness it with our own eyes.
India beating Australia at a game they have
dominated in recent times. But Australia was
not called the best in the world for no reason.
They were livid and they retaliated with a goal
sooner than later and the few Aussie
supporters found their voice among the
crowd. The final quarter came to its final
seconds and the score line read two all and
we knew what was coming next. PENALTY
SHOOTOUTS; something you as a player never
want to play and as a spectator never want to
watch, a one versus one situation you never
want to be in. The Indian captain was the first
one put to the task and he scored with ease
against the Australian goalie. The crowd again
went wild as the Australians hoped to score
on their attempt as well, and that was when a
hero was made, a legend was born, the Indian
goalie saved the attempt and gave the
advantage to the men in blue. The next goal
was scored as well by the Indians but the
Australians scored on their second attempt.
But that was it. That goal was the only good
outcome the Australians would see for
themselves and the Indians completely
dominated beyond that point. It was done. It
had happened. India had beaten Australia in a
world cup. The crowd could not believe what
it had seen. I myself was almost in tears from
what had unfolded. The game was over. That
game practically decided what would happen
in the final as well as India won the final as
well, winning a world level hockey event for
the first time in four decades.
 CONCLUSION
To conclude, we can say that the Junior hockey world
cup 2016 was one of the most important events in the
history of Indian hockey. It led to the revival of hockey
in the country. But the impact of that event was not
limited to that extent. It showed what not only Indian
hockey but all of Indian sports stood for, it stood for
being the underdogs but still fighting and winning, it
stood for making unprecedented Cinderella runs and
those were not proven to be just lucky wins by a small
team, rather evidence of how much talent actually
India packs when it comes to sports and how we are
the sleeping giants in this field.