New Delhi: It is impossible to miss Sam Ward on a hockey pitch. The experienced British forward can easily be spotted wading past opposition defenders as an experienced skater would glide on ice but what really sets the 33-year-old apart is his face mask.
The English drag-flicker sports the equipment not as part of fashion but to protect his eyes and upper face after a horrific injury left him blind in one eye and almost ended his career.
It was the November of 2019 when Ward was hit by an 80kmph shot during an Olympic qualifier against Malaysia. While Ward’s brace took Great Britain to Tokyo, it sent him off the hockey pitch for a year-and-a-half.
Ward suffered facial fractures and a crushed retina which left him without sight in his left eye. He underwent multiple surgeries with most experts ruling out a return to the sport. But Ward refused to give up.
After recovering from his injury and surgeries, he restarted playing for English club Old Georgians in 2022. With no central vision in one eye, Ward compensated with his speed on the pitch and skills with the stick, pushing his limits.
His natural scoring abilities and an unwavering will made the impossible happen in May 2021 when he turned up wearing the white English jersey in a Pro League contest against Germany. Two months later, he was also selected for the Great Britain squad for the Tokyo Olympics, marking one of the most remarkable comeback stories in sport.
Armed with incredible determination, Ward scored both as a striker and drag-flicker, cementing his position in the English squad.
Currently, the top-scorer of the ongoing 2024-25 Pro League, Ward’s prowess in the circle and his ability to be one of the deadliest strikers in open play, helped him get picked by Hockey India League (HIL) outfit UP Rudras for 20.6 lakh. Earlier this month, he scored four times in England’s 8–0 win over Ireland in the Pro League.
“Getting to play with different players and coaches with different experiences, embracing the culture, all of that is going to be really exciting in the HIL. Getting to play with the likes of Hardik (Singh), Lalit (Upadhyay) and other internationals from Holland who won the Olympic gold like Lars Balk and Floris Wortelboer. It’s going to be amazing to play hockey with different people,” said Ward, who made his international debut in 2014.
“That’s the excitement of the league. You’ve got all these different playing styles and philosophies coming together to see how you can play. And then just being able to come over to India. I love it in India, love the culture, love the excitement. Just being able to showcase yourself in front of the fans will be pretty special.”
Ward has been a witness to the rise of Indian hockey since the time they finished last at the 2012 London Olympics, when Ward watched from the stands, to successive Olympic bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris.
“The biggest thing that’s changed (about the Indian team) in the last 10 years is the work ethic. They work very hard together. They stick together and their team camaraderie is probably the massive difference to what it was 10 years ago,” Ward said from his home in Leicester.
“That’s what’s really changed. They’ve always been excellent at hockey but now bringing the defensive side and hard work with it, they’ve just thrived and gotten better and better by doing that.”
India’s rise has also coincided with two of Ward’s most important matches in his career albeit on the losing side. India knocked out Great Britain in both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics from the quarter-finals with the latter being a heated yet memorable meeting.
After a physical first quarter in Paris on August 4, India’s primary first-rusher Amit Rohidas was red carded early in the second quarter. A ten-man India held Great Britain to a 1-1 draw in regulation time before beating the Brits 4-2 in the shoot-out for an unforgettable victory.
“It’s one of those things. That game could have gone either way. The incident with the red card kind of spurred the Indian guys on. They stuck together. That’s the big thing I’ve been talking about. They just find a way through. (PR) Sreejesh obviously had one hell of a game and if you can’t get past the keeper, you’re not going to score. And the shootout, that’s a lottery. Unfortunately, it went the wrong way for us,” added the drag-flicker.
While he’s relishing his chance to play in the HIL for the first time, there is a downside too. “Well, my birthday is on Christmas Eve and obviously Christmas is big over here. So, the fiancé isn’t that impressed right now with the fact that I’m missing both of those. But it’s all part of the fun. She’s very supportive of my hockey,” he concluded.
