In war and in sport, resilience is often the difference between victory and defeat! Where one man learnt this on the frontlines of battle, the other in the high-stakes world of international hockey. Their paths were never meant to cross—Major General Ian Cardozo, a decorated war hero who lost his leg in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, and Suraj Karkera, a national hockey goalkeeper struggling to find his place in the Indian team. Yet, fate had other plans.

A chance encounter with Cardozo’s memoir led Karkera to seek out the legendary soldier. Two years ago, national hockey goalkeeper Suraj Karkera stumbled upon a memoir that would change his life—Cartoos Saab: A Soldier’s Story of Resilience in Adversity by (Retd) Major General Ian Cardozo, a decorated war hero from the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The book resonated deeply with Karkera, who was battling his own war—a struggle for a permanent place in the Indian hockey team after years on the fringes.

Even before finishing the last page, he had already tracked down the war veteran. That initial connection soon blossomed into a profound mentor-student relationship, one that gave Karkera the motivation to keep pushing forward.

The major gave him a life lesson he has never forgotten. For Cardozo, winning was everything—whether in war or in sport. “Sport is like war,” he told Karkera.

For Major General Cardozo, whose leg was amputated on the battlefield after stepping on a landmine, meeting Karkera was a chance to reconnect with hockey, a sport he had played in his youth. “Until two years ago, we didn’t know each other,” Cardozo recalled. “Now, we have adopted him as our protégé.”

Karkera, then struggling with self-doubt, was desperate to reignite his passion. “I was training, doing everything right, but my mind was clouded with thoughts of the future,” he admitted.

His concerns were not unfounded. Despite being part of India’s core hockey group for nearly a decade, he was often the third-choice goalkeeper behind legends P.R. Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak. With only two goalkeeping slots in an 18-member squad—and just one in a 16-member Olympic team—Karkera was repeatedly overlooked for major tournaments.

During his period of uncertainty, Karkera turned to books for inspiration. He devoured stories of resilience, particularly South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph. But it was Cardozo’s life story that struck a chord. Here was a man who had fought in three wars—1962, 1965, and 1971—and had emerged victorious against all odds.

Beyond their shared grit, Karkera and Cardozo had more in common than he initially realised. Both were “Bombay boys”; both had played hockey, and both were army men—Karkera, a naik subedar, felt an instant connection.

Determined to meet Cardozo, Karkera reached out to Meghna Girish, mother of Major Akshay Girish, a soldier who lost his life in the 2016 Nagrota terror attack. Meghna put him in touch with Cardozo’s wife, Priscilla. “We receive many such requests, and I don’t say yes to everyone,” Priscilla recalled. “But Suraj was different—humble, genuine, and down-to-earth. So, we welcomed him.”

Not long after, Karkera flew to Delhi to meet the war hero. What was meant to be a brief visit turned into hours of intense conversations. As Cardozo recounted his battlefield experiences, Karkera sat in awe, hanging onto every word. “It was goosebumps,” he said. More than just stories of war, Cardozo shared invaluable lessons about mental strength—lessons that Karkera knew he could apply on the hockey field.

“You don’t go into battle unless you are prepared. Train hard, be the best, because in war, there’s no second place—you either win or you lose. But winning doesn’t mean cheating. There are ethics to follow,” stated the major.

Karkera was drawn to Cardozo’s black-and-white approach to life. “He has no grey areas. He helped me refocus on reality rather than being distracted by unnecessary worries,” he said.

The veteran admired Karkera’s willingness to learn. “He wasn’t arrogant, and that’s important,” Cardozo noted.

From that first meeting, their bond only grew stronger. Karkera called Cardozo whenever he faced a challenge, and the Cardozos, in turn, cheered for him every time he stepped onto the field.

“We didn’t know him two years ago,” Priscilla said with a smile. “Now, we have a soft corner for Suraj.”