One Team One Dream: Cheering India

Kalpana said OTOD is growing by leaps and bounds and the group has hockey enthusiasts of all ages as its members. The group has more than 10,000 followers on social media.
Members of OTOD at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | Express
Members of OTOD at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | Express

BHUBANESWAR: As Hockey fever grips the Temple City, Indian fans from across the World are thronging Kalinga Stadium to cheer the Men in Blue as they vie for glory at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup. 

Among the fans, some are special. ‘One Team One Dream’ (OTOD) is a group of hockey lovers who are in the City to cheer Team India. The group has been travelling across the globe since 2010 to cheer the Indian team at events like Olympics, World Cups, Champions Trophies and Commonwealth Games. 

‘One Team One Dream’ was born in 2010 during the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi. Most of the group members have been following the game for several years, some since the 60s. The group consists of members from across India and the World. 

“We have members from New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Punjab, Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Andhra Pradesh, Lucknow, Mumbai, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Finland, Canada, Kenya and Australia,” said Raja Namdhari, a member of OTOD. 

Raja said he and other members had attended matches at Kalinga Stadium during the Champions Trophy and Hockey World League Final. “However, the stadium as well the City have undergone a remarkable change this time,” he said adding, 10 members of the group reached here on Wednesday while 40 others will reach the Capital soon. “We hope India will make history at Kalinga Stadium,” he said.

Another member of OTOD Kalpana Singh, who is a lawyer at Maharashtra High Court, said once she landed in Bhubaneswar, the realisation that hockey is a part of Odisha’s culture dawned upon her. “I belong to a family of hockey players. My elder brother is a hockey coach in Maharashtra. I used to play the game in my childhood days,” she said. 

Kalpana said OTOD is growing by leaps and bounds and the group has hockey enthusiasts of all ages as its members. The group has more than 10,000 followers on social media.

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The New Indian Express
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