Condom manufactured sticks pump in goals for India

Jalandhar, Sept 4: Could hockey sticks coated with condoms be the reason for India pumping in 20 goals against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup at Chennai? The hockey sticks of Tirkey, Prabjot or the other hockey players could have been manufactured using a condom at its tip, that makes it stronger and shinier.

A local sports goods manigacturing firm, R K Sports, which makes the popular 'Rakshak' brand of hockey sticks, has evolved the new technique of using condoms to make the sticks smoother and stronger.

When contacted Mr Sanjay Kohli, the managing director of RK Sports said that the idea of using condoms to make the lower part, the hook, came to him a few years back after a large number of hockey sticks began getting damaged. "The hook of a stick has to be tough as it strikes the ball", he added.

Explaining the technique used, Mr Kohli said that seven pieces of mulberry wood are bound together, then boiled, dried, glued and bent on a machine to make the hook. It then goes through several processes, including sawing and polishing, before the handle is added to it.

Earlier, thhe manufacturer used a plastic net which was pasted to the front surface of the hook to prevent it from splitting after a few games. But once the net came out, the stick could not be repaired.

Mr Kolhi then began experimenting with various products to make the hook tough. "One fine day i tried a condom and found that it gripped the wood better than the convetional net", he added.

" Intially i was embarrassed to go ahead with the condom part but then i could find no other alternative and so went ahead", he said while pointing out that people in the neghbourhood of his factory became suspisious of his activities when they came to know that condoms in bulk were being purchased by his unit.

" I remember a shopkeeper began questioning one of my workers when he went to buy condoms in bulk", he added. In fact Mr Kohli had to show the shopkeepers of chemist shops the hockey sticks being manufactured with condoms.

Mr Kohli has however refused to reveal the finer details of his technique as he has applied for a patent of his product.

Besides Rakshak, the other well known hockey brands manufacured by the unit are Vampire and BDM.

UNI