Waited to play in the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium for more than 12 years: Mohammed Raheel Mouseen

It
was
an
unforgettable
day
for
Raheel,
who
had
visited
Bhubaneswar
with
his
friends
from
the
SAI
Hockey
Hostel
in
2014
to
watch
the
Indian
team
play
against
Pakistan
in
the
FIH
Champions
Trophy,
not
knowing
that
fate
would
have
him
play
his
first
match
for
the
Indian
National
team
in
the
same
stadium
eight
years
later.

“I
came
here
to
watch
the
Champions
Trophy
game
with
my
hostel
mates.
It
was
so
crowded
that
day;
I
remember
waiting
in
a
long
queue
just
to
get
a
ticket.
I
was
so
amazed
by
the
sheer
atmosphere
in
the
stadium
that
day
for
the
India-Pakistan
Semifinal
and
I
wondered
what
it
would
be
like
to
play
in
this
ground,”
recalled
the
Bengaluru
lad.

“Making
my
debut
here
was
really,
really
special.
The
funny
thing
is,
I
didn’t
even
remember
all
this
until
a
batchmate
who
travelled
with
me
called
me
up
before
my
debut
match
and
reminded
me.
That’s
when
it
hit
me,
I
got
major
goosebumps
and
it
felt
like
I
was
going
to
explode
with
happiness.
My
parents
were
very
happy
when
I
told
them
that
I’d
be
in
the
starting
XI,
my
father
was
so
proud
of
me
that
he
kept
going
on
about
it
for
a
few
good
minutes
and
this
obviously
made
it
even
more
special.”,
he
said,
opening
up
about
his
whirlpool
of
feelings
a
day
before
the
match.

“The
morning
of
the
match
was
also
special,
obviously
I
was
nervous
and
excited
and
anxious
and
a
lot
of
other
things
but
I
also
had
trust
that
I
am
capable
of
performing
at
this
level
and
that
calmed
down
my
nerves
a
little
bit.
Then
I
talked
to
Nilakanta
about
it
and
he
advised
me
not
to
think
about
anything
negative,
have
belief
in
my
skills
and
do
what
I
usually
do
on
the
pitch,
no
need
to
complicate
anything.”

Playing
in
the
Kalinga
Hockey
Stadium
which
had
die-hard
fans
of
the
game
turning
up
in
large
numbers,
Raheel
said
it
was
a
very
special
feeling
particularly
when
the
national
anthem
played.

“When
I
stepped
onto
the
pitch
and
saw
the
huge
crowd
that
had
come
to
watch,
I
was
already
awe-struck
but
when
they
were
singing
the
national
anthem,
I
had
goosebumps
all
over.
I
knew
this
is
the
moment
I
have
been
waiting
for,
the
moment
for
which
I
worked
so
hard
over
the
last
8
years,”
he
said
when
asked
about
the
match.

“Going
forward
I
want
to
keep
performing
well,
get
some
experience
under
my
belt,
and
work
on
my
consistency,”
he
said.

India
takes
on
New
Zealand
again
on
Friday
(Nov.
4)
in
the
Kalinga
Hockey
Stadium
where
Raheel
hopes
to
pick
up
where
he
left.

Telecast
details:

India
Vs
New
Zealand:
Friday
(Nov.
4)
7:00pm
IST

India
vs
Spain:
Sunday
(Nov.
6)
7:00pm
IST

Live
on
Star
Sports
Select
2
SD
+
HD

Source:
Hockey
India