Hockey player Quinn Beijing lives the life of a footballer for a while at the World Cup in India. The atmosphere in the “hockey madland”, where police protection is required when visiting the temple, reminds him of what the lives of other top athletes can be like. In the Netherlands, Beijing, the joint top scorer for Orange in this World Cup, can easily “cross the street”. In India it is somewhat different.
says the 24-year-old Begin, who is preparing for the semi-final against Belgium on Friday. “Hockey deserves a lot of attention now and then, if you look at the amount of work you put into it. But I think it’s just beautiful now. Compared to football, that’s a compliment indeed.”
And it seems that the local population, who are present in large numbers in the large stadiums, is on the side of Orange after the elimination of the host country, according to Beijing. “They often wish us well in the street and cheer us a lot on the field. The fact that they applaud you is very motivating,” said forward Dean Bosch, who, like Thierry Brinkman and Jeb Jansen, has already scored. Five times in the current World Cup.
Begin sees many reasons why the young Dutch national team is now a crowd favourite. “Maybe because we lost the final in the last World Cup (in 2018 against the Belgians, after a penalty shootout). And people here love orange. And of course we have the best hockey competition in the world.”
This strong major also ensures that National Coach Jeroen Delmy’s team will meet many acquaintances against Olympic and World Champion Belgium. “We know each other very well and there is nothing better than winning against your friends. I don’t match my team mates, but other players will play against friends. I just want to beat Belgium because they are one of the best countries. I don’t think many of us still They’re working on that game in 2018. Nobody really wants to rethink that.”
Outside of hockey, the Leiden native has a very different life on the street than he’s used to from Holland. “For example, people who step aside for a cow in the street. It’s a mess here and people go barefoot.” For Bijen, the big hockey stadiums – Rourkela’s accommodations can seat around 21,000 spectators – are the most beautiful of all he’s seen in India so far. “That’s just a huge football field that was completely full. That was very special. But during a tournament like this, you really get to live in the moment. In three weeks I’ll look back and think: Wow, that was so amazing.”
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