Bhopal Hockey
Hockey is undoubtedly the national outdoor game of India. Its popular from the British Raj and many Indian players earned her the glory. Major. Dhyanchand who won in Munich Olympics against racist Hitler's German team is one example. Hockey players primarily came from diet rich region of the Punjab (includes present day Punjab, Pakistani Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, parts of Uttarkhand and Old Delhi till the Yamuna river western bank. ) However, Bhopal also did produce many outstanding hockey players at all levels. Bhopal had rich sports culture and number of tournaments are testimony to that, held there.
Bhopal Wanderers Club was started by Nawabzada Rashid-Us-Zafar Khan of the Royal family of Bhopal was a great sportsman with a fondness for hockey. He was the captain of Bhopal Wanderers during the 1930s, the golden age of Bhopal Wanderers. Yet another connection and love Jehan Numa has for the national game is that our founder Obaidullah Khan lends his name to one of the major hockey tournaments in India and Bhopal.
In an Urdu article published in 1996, former joint secretary of Bhopal Hockey Association (BHA) M.T. Ansari (who migrated to Pakistan after the partition) says that as hockey sticks were expensive, the youth used branches bent at one end—locally called khapota. Balls were made of twine-wrapped stones; the more enterprising players shaped balls out of date palm roots. With their pyjamas rolled up to the knees, they played in the narrow lanes, lined with open drains. The drains were a crucial feature; the players had to develop excellent ball control and dribbling skills to keep the ball from rolling into the drains. Slowly, Bhopal become renowned for its skilful and artistic hockey players. Maulana Mohammad Ahmad, one of the pioneering players, encouraged local youth to embrace the sport and came to be known as baba-e-hockey. Competitive hockey started in 1909, when the British organised an interstate forces tournament. When Nawab Hamidullah Khan joined Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1911, he made the university hockey team quite easily, and word about Bhopal’s gifted players started to spread. Soon, hockey clubs were born in Bhopal; by 1915, there were around 15, including the Sikandariya, Rashidiya, Alexandra and Bhopal Heroes. The Iqtedar Silver Cup tournament (1916 to 1921) gave exposure to the local talent. In 1925, Bhopal became a founder member of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF); a Bhopal state team started playing national tournaments in 1928. The royal family formally constituted the BHA in 1931 (affiliated to the IHF) with Hamidullah as patron-in-chief and his nephews Saeed uz Zafar Khan and Rashid uz Zafar Khan as patrons.
“The royal family patronised the game with active participation, jobs in the royal army to talented players, provisions of nutritious diets, including fruits and dry fruit shakes, and transportation of players during the weekly local matches,” says Olympian hockey player Aslam Sher Khan. They also started the national-level Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup in 1931, giving Bhopali players and enthusiasts exposure to national and international players.
Mansur Ali Khan & Taufiq Sher Khan after a hockey match
Meanwhile, at the AMU, where many Bhopalis were studying, later some of them even went on to become hockey team's captain like Taufiq Sher Khan. However at that point in time, the university team was not allowed to play in the 1931 Mathura Gold Cup because of upcoming exams. So the students formed another team. As eight players were from Bhopal, they named it the Bhopal Wanderers. The unknown team won the tournament. It was a sign of things to come. In its first four years, the team won 10 prestigious tournaments across the country, and along the way it was reconstituted into Bhopal’s official state team. Two players from the side—Ahsan Mohammed Khan and Ahmed Sher Khan (Aslam’s father)—struck gold at Berlin 1936, under the captaincy of the legendary Major Dhyan Chand. The legend reportedly said, “Give me the Bhopal Wanderers and I can beat any team in the world.” From 1931 to 1950, the team won 30 tournaments in India and, according to Aslam, in 1938, it won all major tournaments. The partition left behind raw wounds and it also affected sports. The first hockey nationals after the partition was held in 1948. It saw hockey powerhouse Punjab fielding a significantly weakened team because of the migration of players to Pakistan. Bhopal, which had first won the nationals in 1945, was not as badly affected, yet. It won in 1948 and two Bhopalis—Akhtar Hussain and Latif ur Rehman—were selected for London 1948, where India won gold. But, both Hussain and Rehman later migrated to Pakistan and played for the national team. This was seen as a betrayal and would have an impact on Bhopal hockey, years later.
Until the 1980s, the city had around 70 clubs, in addition to teams of government departments and public sector undertakings. This machinery continued to polish the abundant local talent in Bhopal. But soon, the clubs started closing down and government departments stopped patronising teams, sounding the death knell for hockey in the city, says Rizvi. In the last two decades, Bhopal has produced barely a handful of India internationals. The last Olympian was Dad (Sydney 2000). But, there have been flashes of brilliance from players like the cousins Affan Yousuf (gold, Asian Champions Trophy, 2016) and Mohammad Umar (gold, Junior Men’s Asia Cup, 2015). The only current India player from Bhopal is junior women’s team goalkeeper Khusboo Khan.
Archery
By Parcha blogpost
Since the start of human race there was a survival necessity of finding the food, early humans did not knew how to grow crops and only kind of food they had was either in the form of fruits, herbs or hunted meat of deer, boar, fish, birds etc. To hunt they needed a 'ranged weapon' and to provide for that were javelins, spades, rocks but most accurate and reliable form was an arrow shot from a bow.
This weapon got developed through ages in different civilizations resulting in a form of weaponry called archery. Not just for hunting but now it was used by the armies across the globe as a formiddable weapon of war. Learning of archery was now regarded as sacred and in many cultures and faiths like Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Tengrism archery is a form of worship. Here in Indian culture, we have many stories about Mahabharata characters such as Arjun the archer and Eklavya. Raja Prithviraj Chauhan's aim at Sultan Mehmud Ghaznawi destroying his eye is a well known story.
Talking about the backgorund, now let us gain some insight on the subject. Archery is divided into two main forms viz traditional and modern . Kind of equipment determines which form of archery is it with the bows made of bamboo, wood, sinew, horns for classical while carbon fiber, aluminium for the modern one. Same goes with the arrows. Basic design of the bow can be classified as:-
- D-shaped bow. Simple design, easy to learn. Least effective with largest length. Normal speeds from 80 FPS to 150 FPS.
- Recurve bow with its tail end bending away from the archer. Generates torque by siyahs at the tail ends, good effective and generates nice speed. Difficult to make, can break if not used properly. Loading speed is maximum in this type as it was designed for wars. Normal speeds range from 180FPS to 220 FPS.
- Compound bow with pulleys and metal body for high power generation. Modern design for next level of effectiveness and power resulting in greater speed over 300 FPS. Very expensive, heavy and difficult to carry, loading speed is low.
To conclude, a normal 40 pound draw weight bow with good design and a decent arrow (7-8mm Outer diameter , 30 inches Length , light weight inclusive of the arrowhead ~ 6 grains) can penetrate a 2mm or 14 guage metal sheet by a distance of 25meters. For purchase, contact Mr. Ramlal at +91-989-841-3794 (WhatsApp).
Disclaimer: We do not carry any liability resulting out of abuse of archery. Also, we do not owe any liability happening out of the deal of purchase of bows, arrow or any other equipment.