V.R. Raghunath receives the Arjuna Award

Raghunath made his debut for the National team over a decade ago, and now has 222 caps and 132 goals to his name. Since Ashish Ballal and A.B. Subbaiah were chosen for the award in 1996, Karnataka had not produced another winner in hockey.

Raghunath felt he had turned a corner in 2010, since when his game had improved a great deal.

V.R. Raghunath has expressed gratitude to the hockey fraternity after becoming the first hockey player from Karnataka to receive the Arjuna Award in nearly 20 years on Monday. “It feels good to be recognized after having put in so much effort over the years,” he said. “I have been able to play for so long thanks to my coaches, team-mates and family. I'm happy they recognized women's hockey as well by honouring Rani (Rampal).”

Since Ashish Ballal and A.B. Subbaiah were chosen for the award in 1996, Karnataka had not produced another winner in hockey. “When I first started playing hockey as a boy, I did not imagine I would get this far. I had a dream, but it was only about playing for the country. I never thought about awards. I have never won any award before, so it feels good,” said the 27-year-old from Gonikoppa.

Raghunath made his debut for the National team over a decade ago, and now has 222 caps and 132 goals to his name. “I was nervous when I played my first match in 2005, but there were seniors like Ignace (Tirkey), Dilip (Tirkey), Arjun (Halappa) and Bharat (Chhetri) to help me out. They asked me to keep it simple. I have always kept their advice in mind."

Raghunath felt he had turned a corner in 2010, since when his game had improved a great deal. “I have played the best hockey of my life in the last six years,” he said. “Things have been completely different for me. In the last three years especially, we have been in so many finals – Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Champions Trophy, Azlan Shah Cup. I regret that there isn't a World Cup or an Olympics on that list. I hope to correct that.”