MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 9: Jayesh Jadhav is a plucky young lad. And not just because he defied odds to score 17 goals for nine-player Mumbai in the recent KD Singh Babu hockey tournament for under-14s at Lucknow.The pint size centre-forward endured 100 degrees fever while playing formidable champions Uttar Pradesh in the semi-finals -- only to brave a scolding by his coach, unaware of the youngster's condition.
Jayesh's feats came as soothing balm to a Mumbai side scourged yet again by the now infamous medical age tests at the tournament. Bizzare methods that involved examination of the boys' pubic hair to ascertain eligibility, debarred seven members of the squad from participation.
The setbacks only spurred Jayesh on. And, at the helm of a determined Mumbai challenge, Jayesh tore apart defences registering a double hat-trick against Andhra Pradesh while scoring 11 in a record 22-0 victory.
Another six goals from his blade followed in a 14-0 rout of Bihar as Mumbai, devastated by medical tests last year,attempted to prove a point.
More than anything else, Jayesh indicates true grit by his determination to excel despite being the only child wielding a stick in Maratha Mandir High School.
Consider the odds. Thirteen-year-old Jadhav has only a concrete strip to hone his skills in the premises of the Bombay Hockey Association's Mahindra Stadium. He comes from a family of meagre means, supported by his mother after his father passed away.
But the lad has made full use of the few advantages he enjoys.Jayesh's grandfather was a BHA groundsman and the youngster has virtually grown up with hockey.
It explains his remarkable reading of the sport. While hockey in India cries out for a revamped approach by its players, Jayesh displays the nuances of modern hockey in great measure -- not least with off-the-ball running, crucial for success in modern times.
Not surprisingly, Jayesh has been profoundly influenced by mega star Dhanraj Pillay whose many exploits set the Mahindra turf afire.
But he has also soakedin influences of another player aspiring to don Pillay's boots -- Air-India's Manoj Lokhande.
Jadhav and Manoj are on common ground in more ways than one. They both live very near the scene of hockey action at the Stadium and Manoj's father was a groundsman as well at the BHA.
Still very young to decide on his future or what he intends deriving out of the sport, Jayesh says: ``I want to be a good player.''
His resolve does not appear diminished even after humiliating circumstances that teams at Lucknow had to endure.
``I felt very shy and ashamed,'' Jayesh says. ``The tests were not good and should not be done.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
