Where skill outsmarts strength

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NAGANO: Exuberant cheers, wild screams and rhythmic applause hit you just before you step into the world of floor hockey, the blue riband event of the Special Olympics World Winter Games here in Nagano.<br /><br />The stands are bright and empty, except for a string of cheerful volunteers and an array of teams who have converted different corners of the stadium into their own temporary homes.The South Africans (incidentally all-black) are celebrating loudly: they have just won a match and are singing a haunting melody and swinging to the beat of an improvised drum. <br /><br />The other teams are nervously, getting ready for their moment of truth and opportunity.<br /><br />The pit is divided into four grounds and four games are at different stages of completion. The Czechs, meanwhile, have already reached their match-corner and are psyching themselves up for their next game: they stand in a line and start humming the dance of death. Slowly, they start stomping the floor and pounding their sticks into the ground as the crescendo builds up; their opponents, Sweden, don''t even dare to look in that direction.<br /><br />The Indian players are already in the thick of their match; they are dressed in dark blue track-suits with yellow stripes and white sneakers. They look thin and fragile but are extremely quick on their feet; the US players are bulky and are in full combat gear: warm body-suits, knee caps and elbow guards. But they are no match for India.<br /><br />Indian reserves and officials are all goading on the team. They are shouting and passing on instructions in Hindi: "<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Pass karo, pass karo. Jaldi. Bhago. Roko</span>." <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">India are already leading 2-0 and the words of Victor Vaz, the head of the delegation, ring in one''s ears. "We want to win the gold. That''s our target," he had said earlier in the day.<br /><br />Can any other Indian team say that before entering a tournament?<br /><br />India beat Kazakhstan 4-0 and drew with China 1-1 and Peru 2-2. These are, of course, just classification matches. Each team has to show its skills and the players their abilities in these four matches. The experts then try and divide them according to overall strengths and weaknesses so that inborn handicaps are nullified.<br /><br />The real competition begins on Monday.<br /><br />Floor hockey is an improvised version of ice-hockey. It''s played on a concrete floor which is slightly larger than a basketball court. The goal is as big as a normal ice-hockey goalpost and it''s guarded by a robust goalie. <br /><br />Each team has five players (armed with a pogo stick) and a goalie (with an ice-hockey stick). The puck is as big as a discus and has a hole in the centre.<br /><br />The players are expected to dig their sticks into the puck and drag it along with them; some of them quickly pass but quite a few try a unique Indian trick — a solo, from one end to the other. As they reach the opposition player, they do a 360 degree turn and race past him/her.<br /><br />The Indian team has been culled out from various parts of the country, including Chennai, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Delhi. Some of the players have been at it for nearly eight years and appear to have mastered it. Vijay Mishra is currently the leading goal-scorer; Rajiv Singh (captain), Venkatesh, Ahmed, Rohit are the key players in the team. Hopefully, they will become stars by the time the Special Olympic Games end.</div> </div>