Tete flashes her silver medal in Ranchi. Pix: Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, April 7: From the podium in Melbourne to a trekker in Ranchi, for Sumrai Tete, the skipper of the silver-winning Indian women?s hockey team, the ride has indeed been rollercoaster.

Sumrai Tete, a native of Kasira in Bolba block in Simdega was on his way back to the state capital from New Delhi on the Jammu-Tawi Express when she disembarked at Ramgarh and took a trekker back to Ranchi to reach home early.

Interestingly, despite her detour being known to a few officials of the state women?s hockey association, Tete had a lonely journey, with none from the sporting fraternity to receive her at Ramgarh. And if that was not enough, barring a couple of officials from the Jharkhand State Women?s Hockey Association, literally nobody turned up at her home to give Tete a hero?s welcome, which she richly deserves after she brought back international recognition for her country and her state with her on-field exploits.

Picture this in contrast to the return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Team India wicketkeeper, from his tour to Pakistan. Fresh from his success with his blazing blade, Dhoni was received by a multitude at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi, which was bursting at its seams with sports enthusiasts and cricket officials alike.

Tete, however, is not complaining. ?I just wanted to save time, so I got off at Ramgarh. I had a first class pass of the train as I am a railways employee. No hard feelings about it,? she said. But she did rue the indifference of the state government towards her plea to grant her a plot of land. She has been knocking on the doors of the government with her request since 2003, she claimed, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

?After winning the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2002, we went on to win in the Afro-Asian Games and the Asia Cup as well. I had then requested the officials for a plot of land. But till now nothing has been done in this regard,? Tete said. ?I am not comparing hockey with cricket. But if Mahendra Singh Dhoni can be showered with incentives for his superlative performance, hockey players should not be neglected altogether. After all, we too are playing for the country and winning laurels,? she added.

Sumrai, incidentally, has an enviable resumé of about 160 international caps in more than 30 international tournaments.

Back home for her Part III examinations starting tomorrow (she is a student of Gossner College), Sumrai will also nurse an injury, which exacerbated during her Commonwealth stint.

Now in Ranchi, Sumrai plans to take a month’s rest and heal her ailment with some regular exercises and medicines prescribed by her doctor.

“Although there is no need for an operation, I will have to perform exercises regularly during my stay here. I could not play the finals due to this and the back strain, which had also aggravated. My main challenge is the World Cup in September in Spain and Asian Games in Doha in December and I have to be fit by then,” said Sumrai, adding that the team will also have to gear up and rectify past mistakes to snatch the two coveted crowns.

Her stint as the national skipper, Tete said: “Playing as the captain gives one an added responsibility. I have to lead from the front with my performance. After a loss and a draw in the Commonwealth Games, I was under some pressure but once we started playing our natural game, we gained control of the situation. Captaincy did not affect my game at any given point.”

Apart from eyeing top slots in the coming World Cup and the Asian Games, Sumrai also has expectations of being nominated for an Arjuna Award. And if her track record is anything to go by, her aspirations hardly seem incredulous.