The defeat of the Indian women’s hockey team in their opening match in Tokyo Olympics on Saturday failed to daunt the spirited enthusiasts of Jharkhand’s Simdega.

They would continue bringing out small processions in villages in support of the team that has two members from Jharkhand — Nikki Pradhan from Khunti and the Simdega girl Salima Tete.

“Taking on the world number one, Netherlands, was like playing the final match and our team played rather well,” Hockey Jharkhand president Manoj Konbegi defended the national women’s team despite its 1-5 defeat in the inaugural match.

Small children keep the enthusiasm alive in Simdega by going around their respective villages, carrying a banner saying Cheer for India and shouting slogans supporting the team.

Nikki didi ko goal bachana hai, Salima didi ko goal marna hai and Bharat ko gold jitna hai are some of the slogans, besides Cheers for India and Chak de India, they shout while roaming around in their villages that produced many hockey stars.

Besides shouting slogans, these children also dance to the tune of two songs that have been composed by local artistes recently and also uploaded on YouTube.

“One of this was released on Wednesday,” Konbegi informed about a Hindi song lyrics of which runs like Khelenge hockey dilojaan se (will play hockey wholeheartedly), adding it was sung by local artistes Kashinath Nayak and Jagannath Ram.

But the other one, a Nagpuri song urging Khelo khelo khelo hockey pura dam lagake khelo (play hockey with all your energy)... that was presented by Laldhan Nayak and launched during the sub-junior national hockey championship held in Simdega last year was more popular.

The song became a hit because it is in local Nagpuri dialect and also narrates the achievements of hockey legends from Jaipal Singh, Sylvanus Dungdung and Michael Kindo to Sumrai Tete and Kanti Baa.

“This song is played whenever there is a hockey match and even at other gatherings,” Konbegi said about its popularity, adding he also found it playing at social functions.

“Even we were inspired by Laldhanji’s song but made it in Hindi as that would be understood by people from outside the state,” Kashillal Nayak replied when asked why they chose to render their song in Hindi instead of Nagpuri.

The people of the region, including Simdega, that produced many hockey greats have hockey in their blood, Konbegi reminded, adding they were trying to keep their enthusiasm intact by launching songs and organising small gatherings in villages.

“I will speak to Salima and also send her these video clips so that she and her teammates know how seriously these young children support them,” he further informed.

“Such things may not impact their game on Tokeyo but will surely motivate these children who are the future of hockey in this part of the country,” Konbegi added to justify their activities.