CHENNAI: Even today, Ganga Prasad Tiwari, at 60, does not hesitate from taking up a part-time job of driving a private vehicle at night or working as a guard with a gun in his hands during weddings. A driver in the morning, Tiwari does it to earn an extra `500 bucks as it helps him and family.
Earlier, it was a compulsion as he had to support a family of six comprising four children — three brothers and a sister. Now it has become a habit even if it's annoying his children including India junior hockey player Sharda Nand Tiwari, who played a key role in helping the country win a bronze medal in the Junior World Cup on Wednesday.
"When I am there in Lucknow, I make sure he doesn't take up such jobs but we have to understand him as well. He doesn't like sitting idle at home and such work keeps him busy," Sharda told this daily with a grin. Like any lower middle class family, the 21-year-old defender had his shares of ups and downs and his parents and siblings along with a few others stood like a rock behind him.
"When you are small, you do not understand the sacrifices they make for you but once you grow older, you realise how tirelessly they worked to keep you afloat," said Sharda, who converted three penalty strokes in the rolling shootout against Belgium in the quarterfinal a few days ago to guide India into the semifinals.
The home event was the last Junior World Cup for Sharda, who had suffered heartbreaks in the past two editions. In the 2021 edition played in Bhubaneswar, India finished fourth losing the bronze medal match to France with Sharda being part of the team. The Uttar Pradesh player once again found a place in the team for the 2023 tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but had to miss the event after being diagnosed with typhoid only a day before the departure. "I was ill and underwent a few tests following which I was diagnosed with typhoid. It was heartbreaking to miss the tournament. I was hospitalised for around a week. This was my last junior World Cup and I am happy I contributed to the team's finish on the podium," he said.
India were trailing 0-2 till the end of third quarter against Argentina in the third-place match. They enjoyed good possession in all three quarters but could not convert it to their advantage. The match, however, turned on its head in the fourth and the last quarter with the hosts not only equalising but also taking a commanding 4-2 lead. It was a pep talk from coach PR Sreejesh at the half-time in the locker room and break after the penultimate quarter that spurred the team on. "The coach asked us to wake up. We also felt we were not doing enough, but we had a belief that we can turn this around and we went on to do it."
After four failed attempts in the previous quarter, India decided to go for a penalty corner variation rather than direct drag-flick and it worked as they converted all three short corners in the fourth quarter. Sharda, in between, scored a penalty stroke as India won 4-2. "We have seen the videos and came to the conclusion that deflection from right or left or centre can help us break Argentine defence. We practised it but used it for the first time during the tournament."
With India trailing and only 15 minutes remaining in the final hooter, even Sharda's parents had seemingly lost hope. "They went out probably to visit a temple. Only my younger brother was watching the match on TV and he informed them that we won. Obviously, they were over the moon."
Sharda hopes the show earns him a regular place in the senior team. He also hopes he can convince his father from taking up random jobs and buy the family a home of their own. "We are living in a rented house now but I hope to buy the same one once I get the cash prize," signed off Sharda.
