|
Before the tourney itself kicks off however, Ten is hoping to get
fans into the groove and will pull at their patriotic heart strings
from today onwards.
Coinciding with Independence Day which falls tomorrow, a series
of promo's My heart beats for India sees the players talking
about their most emotional moments while playing for the country.
 For
instance, coach Rajinder Singh reminisces about his Olympic success
in 1980, as well as his role in helping India to its only Bronze
medal in the Champions Trophy in 1982. At the same time, he believes
that as a coach, he might well better that performance at this edition
of the event.
The current Indian skipper Dhanraj Pillay recollects great moments
against Pakistan. For Dilip Tirkey, a man of few words, the heart
breaking loss to Poland in the final group match of the 2000 Olympics
remains etched in memory. Goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan talks about
his brilliant performance against Pakistan in the semi final of
the 2002 Asian Games and his stellar efforts in thwarting the great
Sohail Abbas.
Ten Sports' marketing manager Mohit Mehra said: "Apart from the
on-air efforts, we have extended these to an on-ground promotion
called Go India Go running in all the major metro's. High
traffic areas will be telecasting the matches on large screens.
Specially designed Ten Sports bandanna's with Go India Go
branding will be given away to viewers along with other special
offers."
"The fact that the telecast times for the matches are at prime-time
is a big help. Champions Trophy Hockey 2003 has received some excellent
support from advertisers with Hero Honda stepping in as the presenting
sponsor. Hutch, Toyota, HPCL, Asian Paints and Titan are the associate
sponsors," adds Mehra.
The channel has also coined nicknames for the players. Mehra said,
"The objective of all our efforts has been to glamourise the sport
and the players. As you know people react to characters and stars
and we have tried to build up the hockey players as characters by
using some facet of their playing skills. We feel that the nicknames
we have used will help more people relate to them. The names really
reflect the special quality of the players depending on their role.
We feel that this might inspire youngsters to emulate them and have
more people taking up the sport."
For instance Chauhan has been designated "Spiderman"
on account of his athleticism and agility to keep out the opposition.
The team's "Terminator" is Deepak Thakur. One of the best
finishers in modern hockey once he gets into the "D" his conversion
rate of moves into goals is as high. The "Leech" Viren
Rasquinha is one of the unsung heroes of the team. His passes from
the midfield and man marking skills make him one of the key players
in the team. Pillay is the "Wizard".
The "Speed Demon" Gagan Ajit Singh has the enviable ability
to accelerate. Dilip Tirkey is nicknamed "The Rock" as
his defence is rock solid. "Dragon" Jugraj Singh's speciality
is the drag flick which is one of most potent penalty corner conversion
techniques.
|
