Kumar Siddhartha, Pune
“It took us two seconds to pick India, and why not?” said Juan Escarré, 54, a Spanish hockey legend, talking about the adoption process of Spain. In Spain for the adoption, one has to select the country from where the child would originate from. Juan said “the choice was easy.”
Saumya Escarré García-Solera was living in an orphanage for four years after she was found abandoned at a railway station in Delhi, aged just two. Now 12, Saumya is embracing the dream to play hockey.
Juan Esscaré Urueña is a Spanish hockey player, he was born in Alicante, Spain. He competed in the Summer Olympics, in 1996, where he won the silver medal with his national team. Jaun calls himself a South Asian hockey tragic and has competed for Spain in three summer Olympics, alongside the Champions Trophy as well as European Nations Cup. In 1996, he first visited India as a player and said it felt like a pilgrimage to him. He said that he’s a fan of India’s hockey team’s playing style and also that of Pakistan, he added that he thinks India has largely influenced his life and also his game. He remembered the time he visited India with his wife in 2005 and “fell in love with the country.”
When Jaun was asked if Saumya remembers her life in India, he said “she was really young and doesn’t want to talk about her past.” Juan added that he knows when she’ll get older, she will get curious, however it doesn’t worry him because family is “emotionally attached.” Juan laughs saying, I’m more worried because my daughter doesn’t want a Spain Hockey t-shirt, so he will return home with a special gift: an Indian hockey jersey signed by all the players and given by Craig Fulton. It is a special gift for a special child, Juan said, adding to that he said that he has to send pictures to Craig and Udita, Indian women’s players, and have to thank her.
This time when Jaun visited India as the Spanish men’s hockey team’s assistant coach for the Hockey Pro League in Odisha, he said it felt more personal because “it is my daughter’s home”. While talking about the past Juan said the adoption process was long and not nice, as for two years, the couple didn’t receive any response from the agencies involved. Juan said just when they had given up on the hope, he received a call saying “there was a ‘Match’”.
In the port city of Alicante, Spain, Saumya has grown into “a happy child, funny and cheerful,” remarks Escarré, noting that his daughter has even started learning hockey.