Ousted from academy once, Ankit now India's key player in midfield

AROUND five years ago when he was 11-year-old, Ankit Pal found his name in the list of players being weeded out from the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Bhopal. He had got admission only a year back after clearing the selection trials.

- FIROZ MIRZA

AROUND five years ago when he was 11-year-old, Ankit Pal found his name in the list of players being weeded out from the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Bhopal. He had got admission only a year back after clearing the selection trials. Regular absence from camp was cited as the reason.

Hurt and disappointed, Ankit, who hails from a modest background, spent the next year in his hometown Gwalior and made a comeback to the academy after shining in the 2017 trials. Such was his determination to prove himself that he was not only picked up for the junior national camp in 2019 but also recently made his international debut at the ongoing FIH Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

“Back then I had never stayed away from the family so I used to visit my family quite often. Once every month and that led to my ouster from the academy. Obviously, it was a bitter pill to swallow,” the midfielder told this daily.