Bhubaneswar: Unusual as it may sound but China, for all its sporting culture, provinces and gargantuan size, had to pick all its 18 hockey men’s World Cup-bound players from one province, the name of which sounds similar to that of its neighbouring country.
Very few people know that the country’s entire team which are in the city and are making their debut in the sport’s biggest extravaganza belongs to just one province – Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China is made up of 34 provinces and their best result in the sport till date is a silver medal finish at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
Hockey is not that popular in China. It is mostly common among the Daur people, who have been playing a traditional sport called ‘Beikou’, a game similar to field hockey, for about 1,000 years. The modern game started in China in the mid 1970s.
“Yes, all players from the team are from Inner Mongolia. They all are from just one club and one province,” China’s South Korean coach Sang Ryul Kim informed.
Kim, who guided his own country South Korea to a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and mentored China to beat India and Pakistan before claiming the Doha Asiad silver, has got a wealth of experience as a coach.
“Hockey is most popular in that region of China. Hockey is similar to a traditional sport of that region named ‘Beikou’, so these players have easily adapted to the game,” he added.
The Chinese have been grouped in Pool B along with heavyweights England, Ireland and defending champions Australia and the coach said his players have the capability to cause an upset or two in the tournament if they turn out on the turf without any fear.
“They have the fitness. They have the mental strength. The only problem with our players is that they have very less experience of playing against strong teams. That’s the only weakness,” Kim said.
“If they (Chinese players) are worried and doubtful on the pitch, they can’t do anything. If they are confident, they can do something,” he added.