THOOTHUKUDI: B Sathish, who has been honing his skills at the SDAT Sports Hostels of Excellence (SHE) in Kovilpatti, has made it to the Indian Junior Men's Hockey team, which will play the 11th Sultan of Johor Cup 2023 from October 27 to November 4 in Malaysia. The 19-year-old was part of the Tamil Nadu sub-junior hockey team that played national tournaments in 2018 and 2019. He also played for Tamil Nadu in the national junior hockey tournaments in 2021 and 2022.
"His exhilarating performance during the 2022 national tournament at Kovilpatti, secured him a spot in the national training camp in January 2023," said SDAT hockey coach N Muthukumar. Sathish is a native of Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli. His father Balu is a police constable attached to the Armed Reserve in Tirunelveli. He stayed at the SDAT sports hostel in Ramanathapuram while studying classes 7 to 12. Sathish is currently pursuing his final year B.Sc Physical Education at SSDM Arts and Science College in Kovilpatti.
Speaking to TNIE, Sathish said, "I have been playing hockey since 2015. I am so happy that I have been chosen for the national junior team. My father has represented Tamil Nadu in the Santhosh Trophy tournament. He is my role model."
Hockey Unit of Thoothukudi secretary Guruchitra Shanmugabarathi noted that two players earlier -- Karthi and Mareeswaran who were trained at SDAT Sports Hostels of Excellence (SHE) in Kovilpatti -- had been part of the national hockey team. Muthukumar said the support of the state sports authority had helped produce three international players from Kovilpatti SHE. The state must now focus on improving the infrastructure futuristically, he insisted.