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By Curtis Panke
It was serious business. A berth in the Junior Men’s Field Hockey World Cup berth would be on the line momentarily, and he’d moved across the country to prepare for the opportunity that lay ahead.
But as Rohan Chopra warmed up for the first game in the biggest tournament of his career to date, he found himself reflecting for a moment on the path that got him to the May 20-28 Junior Men’s Pan American Championship at the University of Toronto.
“Stepping out onto the field and seeing my friends and family from Ottawa, that reminds me right away back to when I had a Nepean Nighthawks jersey,” indicates the 20-year-old from Barrhaven. “But now it’s a Canadian jersey.”
Chopra had dressed for the Nighthawks for the previous seven years, but this fall joined the Canadian national men’s development team, centralized in Vancouver. It was a major move, but Chopra drew inspiration from the prospect of helping to make a name for his local club.
“It’s definitely something special,” underlines the current Langara College student. “The younger kids see me move away from home, see me on posters and on the websites and it brings a lot to me and a lot to them.”
Chopra is also inspired by his family. Both of his parents as well as his aunt are former national team players, and his brother and sister are involved in the sport too.
“Representing the generation above me is huge,” highlights Chopra, who learned the game from his parents, Maureen and Sandeep – the Nighthawks club founders. “It’s something that I take a lot of pride in. I think my family recognizes that as well and they like to see the legacy continue.”
Canada overcomes rough start
Early in the tournament, it wasn’t shaping up to be quite the tradition Chopra or his team had envisioned. Canada opened with 3-2 and 2-1 losses to Mexico and Chile.
“People started saying all sorts of stuff online, like ‘Whose fault this is? What is going on with the junior team?’” recounts the John McCrae Secondary School grad. “We took kind of a big hit.”
The Canadians responded with an 8-0 drubbing of Guyana in their last round robin contest to setup a crossover quarter-final against Trinidad and Tobago. Chopra scored the first goal in Canada’s 3-2 victory, and went on to secure one of the two prized Junior World Cup berths with a 3-1 win over Chile before falling 5-0 to powerhouse Argentina in the final.
“We just wanted to go in and play Canadian hockey,” notes the former Nepean Raiders ice hockey player, now eager for the next step in his field hockey journey, but nonetheless taking a moment to appreciate how far he’s come.
“Seeing my name on the roster with Ottawa, Ontario next to it brings chills to me,” adds Chopra. “It shows I moved all the way across Canada to accomplish something and I did.”