Plight Of Athletes! Indian Hockey Player's Family Lives In Kutcha House With No Water, Electricity

Hockey is a promising space where India hopes to bring home medals and honours. Among the athletes representing the country in the international game is Nilam Sanjeep Xess, who debuted for the national senior team at the 2016 South Asian Games and went on to captain the team at the Boys Under-18 Asia Cup.

The Indian men's hockey team will soon be going into starting its campaign in the upcoming Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) World Cup 2023, and Nilam happens to be one of the players the country looks forward to. While the nation celebrates the emerging star back home, his family lives in a kutcha house that has tales of poverty to narrate.

A Star Player Living In Poverty

Languishing in poverty, without water and a proper electricity connection, Indian hockey's star defender lives in a humble kutcha house in Kadobahal village of Sundargarh district of Odisha. The player's family struggles to make ends meet, and for Nilam to practice amidst this for an international event is yet another struggle.

Nilam's mother, Jeera Xess, says, "When our son comes home during breaks, he also stays in this kutcha house. We will be grateful if the government provides us a pucca house under any scheme." However, the family conveys that they have not received any form of help from the government yet, and have no other option but to continue living in the thatched house.

Growing up in a village that rarely saw electricity, hockey was a getaway for Nilam, who was otherwise occupied helping his parents in farming. It was just some five years back that the village got its electricity, and today hundreds of spotlights inside the Birsa Munda Stadium will be on Nilam. From the local ground with dilapidated goalposts, Nilam struck the ball far and came a long way to the state-of-the-art stadium where he would play his World Cup debut against Spain.

Funnily enough, Nilam became a defender in the national team as nobody else would choose the position back in his local ground. In a place where everyone wanted to be the forward and score goals, the defender marked his place and struck the true goal.

Waiting For A Change To Come By

According to Free Press Journal, the house, with two rooms that can barely fit all the members, is today making space for Nilam's medals, trophies, and certificates. After regional papers had covered the plight of the international hockey player, many authorities in the area launched an inquiry and vowed to provide all kinds of help to the family.

Apart from this, hockey India has also promised each player a cash reward of ₹25 lakhs if they win the gold medal at the upcoming World Cup. These promises are the only hope that the family now holds onto.

Also Read: Odisha's Hockey History To Be Included In NCERT Textbooks, Aims To Promote Sports Among Youth