The vegetable seller’s daughter is busy playing hockey for India
The way Mumtaz is playing at the junior level, he can be seen in the senior team very soon. The pace and scoring ability that he has can see him in Rani Rampal’s team as well. Mumtaz is number three in the list of highest scorers with six goals so far in this competition.
Kaiser Jahan stands in the sun and sells vegetables in the lane of Lucknow’s Topkhana Bazar. At about the same time, his daughter Mumtaz Khan is hitting the ball over the South Korean goalkeeper on the hockey field of a South African university.
India defeated South Korea 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the Youth World Cup of Hockey. Mumtaz scored a goal. India will play in the semi-finals of this competition for the second time in history. Mumtaz’s mother Kaiser could not watch the best match of 19 years. He said, “I am busy at that time. I’d love to see him score goals, but I have to make a living. The opportunity to see him score goals will surely come in the future.”
The way Mumtaz is playing at the junior level, he can be seen in the senior team very soon. The pace and scoring ability that he has can see him in Rani Rampal’s team as well. Mumtaz is number three in the list of highest scorers with six goals so far in this competition.
While Mumjat’s mother could watch the game, her five sisters kept an eye on the game. They were watching the game on mobile phones at home in Lucknow. Their father was in the mosque during the game. Mumtaz’s elder aunt Farah said, “It’s hard to explain our state of mind. There was a time when we had nothing. We had to listen to our parents to let the girls play.”
Hockey came suddenly in Mumtaz’s life. In 2013, Mumtaz ran a race for the school in Agra. There his speed caught attention. Her childhood coach Neelam Siddiqui said, “Mumtaz had tremendous speed. We thought that would be useful in hockey. We felt that if he could learn the game of hockey, he would become a great player.”
Neelam used to coach at KD Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow. Mumtaz arrived there a few months after catching the eye of the competition in Agra. Mumtaz played well in the trials there. He was admitted there with a scholarship. He started living in the hostel there. Neelam said, “Mumtaz was only 13 years old. Played for the school in some matches. At that time we dropped him in a match with the seniors. I wanted to see how he did. Mumtaz was not afraid. He also made several good dodges. From the moment we admitted him, he had a dream of playing in the Indian team.”
Mumtaz’s aunt Farha said, “Our father used to drive rickshaws. Father was getting old. It was difficult to drive a rickshaw. My uncle noticed that. At that time, uncle bought a bag of vegetables. Our mother now takes it out.” It was difficult to cover the education expenses of six girls with that money from selling vegetables. Buying hockey equipment for Mumtaz is even more difficult. Mumtaz’s sister Shireen said, “Didi’s coaches were very helpful that time.”
Neelam says she didn’t have to work hard to teach Mumtaz the game. Some ideas about the game came naturally to Mumtaz. Using that, Mumtaz got a place in India’s youth team in 2017. Hockey is played in five-man teams at the Youth Olympics. Mumtaz won silver there. Farah said, “That medal brought an untimely Eid in our lives. It’s still the same joy to win a medal.”
India will play Netherlands in the semi-final on Sunday. All eyes will be on Mumtaz in that match. Only Mumtaz’s mother will not be able to watch that match. He has to go out to sell the vegetables.
