Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin gifts a house to India hockey player Karthi Selvam on seeing current house condition

Stalin recently paid a visit to the Karthi’s house in the Ariyalur district, which is 360 kilometres away from Chennai, and seeing the dilapidated condition of the Indian player’s residence, he gifted him a new house.

Hockey India took to its Twitter handle and thanked the TN CM for his thoughtful gesture. “Honourable Chief Minister, Shri M K Stalin, made a thoughtful gesture when he paid a visit to Selvam Karthi’s home in Ariyalur and immediately gifted him and his family a new house to stay on seeing the current house condition,” HI tweeted.

Hockey India thanked the CM for such a wonderful gesture and stated the move will inspire them to go the extra mile to help Tamil Nadu Hockey. “Very Special thanks to our Treasurer Shri Sekar J Manoharan for all his efforts to create history in Tamil Nadu Hockey,” HI tweeted further.

21-year-old Selvam impressed all with his performance in his debut game in the FIH Pro League as India defeated New Zealand 7-4 in the 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League at the Kalinga Stadium earlier this month. The Tamil Nadu forward scored two goals as Team India came back into the game after conceding a two-goal lead initially. His performance has brought repute to Tamil Nadu Hockey which aims to produce more quality players.

Coach Graham Reid gave the first chance to Selvam in the FIH Hockey Pro League and the youngster as he replaced Mohammed Raheel on the left wing in the starting lineup.

Son of a watchman makes family proud

Karthi comes from humble origins as his father is a watchman at a government college. He is determined to do well on the international stage.

“My father works as a watchman at a government college for a salary of Rs 5,000 a month. I have an elder sister who is married and a younger brother who has completed his 12th standard. I am aware that there have been many players in the Indian team who have come from a very difficult financial background and I am no different,” the young forward was quoted by HI last year.

“If I had not pursued hockey, I perhaps would have been doing odd jobs to earn a living. It has made me more determined to do well and go on to a successful international career,” he said.

Several Indian hockey players come from humble origins and go on to inspire a generation. Selvam made his debut in the Asia Cup and scored in his debut match for India against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Selvam alongside Mareeswaran Sakthivel was selected in India’s squad for the Asia Cup and it was the first instance when a player from Tamil Nadu was selected for the national side in 13 years.

Tamil Nadu was once thriving with big hockey players but the state hasn’t had much success in the recent years. The last time a hockey player from Tamil Nadu was part of the Olympic squad for India was back in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Adam Sinclair was the last Olympian from Tamil Nadu who participated in the Olympics.

Gunasekar Malayalan was the last player from Tamil Nadu who was part of the national side during the 2009 Asia Cup.