Far away from the confines of their homes, these youngsters are lodged inthe Air-India Hockey Academy (AIHA) at the National Stadium. It all began in1992 and now seven years later, six boys of the AIHA are in the nationalcamp for next year's Olympic Games at Sydney. ``If India wins a medal atSydney, it will not just be a tribute to the AIHA, but also a revival ofIndian hockey,'' says Ramesh Nambiar, sports coordinator of Air-India.

Besides hockey, Air-India has been involved in several other games.

Football, women's cricket and kabaddi are some of the disciplines in whichAir-India has built teams. But hockey has a special place in its scheme ofthings. Air-India managing director M P Mascarenhas has played the game inhis younger days. And it's not surprising that when recently the Air-IndiaAcademy trainees did well in a tournament, they got a pleasure trip toSingapore as reward, thanks to Mascarenhas.

Unfortunately, due to government curb on fresh recruitment, Air-India hasnot been able to take new players on its rolls. But the company has got overthis hurdle by inducting young hockey players in its academy for athree-year contract. Entry to the academy is subject to very strict trialsconducted on the guidelines set by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

``Every time there are trials, we have a panel of three past Olympians whoselect the boys,'' says Nambiar. The trainees are, of course, obliged toplay hockey but they are also attached to schools and colleges. ``We have anarrangement with Frank Anthony Public School and Jamia Millia University inDelhi,'' says Namabiar. ``Besides making them top players, we also take careof their career. In case they cannot continue with hockey due to somereason, at least they will not miss out on studies,'' says Nambiar. Once thetrainees mature as good players, they are absorbed by other units such asthe police, railways and sports boards.

That the Air-India Academy is on the right lines is reflected in the recentgood performance by the team. Air-India is the current junior nationalchampion. In fact, 11 trainees from the academy are members of the Indianjunior national team. Gagan Ajit Singh, Jagdish Poonappa, Brojen Singh,Sandeep Sangwan and Anurag Raghuvanshi are some of the promising players ofthe AIHA. Gagan Ajit and Raghuvanshi were also members of the Indian teamthat played in the Asia Cup in Malaysia early this month. Prabhjot Singh,Devesh Chauhan and Anwar Khan are currently on a training-cum-competitiontour to Europe.

Running the academy needs a lot of money. ``But in terms of mileage,Air-India gets much more than it could have by way of advertisements,'' saysNambiar. And if Operation Sydney Olympics is successful, Air-India'sMaharaja will have another jewel to his crown.