Thankfully, this won’t be Rajiv Revisited

If only things had been as simple five years ago.

Mishra, then 21, was one of India’s brightest stars. A centre-forward who could play in almost any position, he was rated as among the best of his generation. In 1997, he’d led India to the final of the Junior World Cup and ended up the second-highest scorer of the championship.

He was at a camp preparing for the senior World Cup when he collided with goalkeeper AB Subbiah and twisted his knee. That was the end of the road for him. Mishra was sent to a top Delhi surgeon but an operation didn’t seem to help him much.

It’s here that the story becomes fuzzy, the lines blur. According to official guidelines, a national player is entitled to free medical treatment at government cost anywhere in the world. Mishra wanted to go abroad for treatment and physiotherapy but — in what can be best described as a communication gap between him and the federation — it didn’t happen. The IHF said he didn’t approach them with the problem, Mishra says they knew what it was all along.

‘‘I come from a poor family and was not in a position to bear the expenses. I was playing for the country and the government and the IHF should have helped me. After all, when a jawan gets injured or killed in a battle he gets compensation’’, Mishra told this reporter from Varanasi, where he lives.

For the next four years, he went into depression, stopped playing for his employers, Railways, and didn’t even visit a hockey stadium. He’d almost given up hopes of returning to hockey when he approached noted surgeon and BCCI consultant Dr Anant Joshi last year.

‘‘Dr Joshi was the only person who came forward to help me. He did not charge anything for his treatment and told me it was a recognition for my contribution to the national team,’’ said Mishra.

Today, he’s back playing minor-level hockey. But the mental scars remain. ‘‘Jab tak mere khel mey khoobsoorti tha, log taaliya bajate they aur poochte they ki kisi cheez ki zaroorat to nahi hai. Lekin jab zaroorat tha to koi nahi aaya. (When I was playing well, people applauded and asked me if I needed anything. But when I needed help no one came forward.’’

Mishra now has one desire left: to play for the national team again, even for a few months. ‘‘Most players want to play in the Olympics but I just want to play for a few months and show that I can still be the most dangerous forward in the world.’’