Sting goes out of the flick
Bengaluru: The year is 1998. Somewhere in Bengaluru, a nine-year-old Abhishek Sadanand gently moves the television antenna on the terrace of his home to fix it at the right angle to catch the elusive signal while his seven-year-old sister’s, Deepika, task is to relay the message as and when the grainy TV screen flashes a clearer image.
A few minutes later, their teamwork pays off as DD Sports springs to life on the ground floor. “I had seen his picture in the newspaper but I wanted to watch Sohail Abbas live in action,” reminisces the hockey fan.
It was the debut season of the ‘Drag-flick king’ who went on to become the second highest goal-scorer in international hockey with 348 goals in 315 matches for Pakistan. Bringing in a combination of speed and accuracy, Abbas revolutionalised the art of drag flicking in penalty corners which is considered, by many, as one of the most exciting part of the sport.
Essentially, a pusher, a trapper and a drag flicker, along with four other players, form the attack line for a penalty corner-awarded side while four runners and a goalkeeper constitute a defending team, all inside the shooting circle or the ‘D’. A seven versus five war ensues within an ongoing battle.
“Dhanraj (Pillay) and (Dilip) Tirkey charging at Abbas even if risking broken bones is hockey folklore. But now the conversion rate is so bad. No fun,” rues the now 34-year-old Abhishek, an IT professional.
