With BOSM 2026 rapidly approaching, the BOSM English Press sat down with Aditya Laddha, the captain of the boys’ hockey team, to discuss their preparations for this year’s edition.
Aditya explained that due to the niche nature of hockey as a sport, only three to four teams compete in a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams advancing to the finals. A typical hockey match consists of two teams of eleven players, battling it out in four periods of fifteen minutes each.
Aditya emphasised their fitness and hard work as a key strength of the team, believing this year’s team to be the strongest during his tenure at BITS. He mentioned that the dedication of all the players towards the sport was admirable, adding that everyone showed up to the early morning practice ready to give it their all. Owing to the physically demanding nature of the sport, their practices were rigorous—six rounds of GymG, followed by multiple sprints around the hockey ground, each under a minute, before wrapping it up with three rounds of jogging. Practice ran from Tuesday to Friday from 6:30 PM to 8 PM, with weekend sessions from 6 AM to 8:30 AM and 6 PM to 9 PM.
To balance this intensity, the team would take two days right before the beginning of the fest to rest and recover from fatigue or any injuries that may have been picked up. After the fest, the team takes a break until the mid-semester examinations, before picking up practice again for Inter-BITS. The team had seen mixed results—they came in fourth place last BOSM, and third the year before that. Last year, the team clinched gold in Inter-BITS, as well as silver in IIT Ropar’s ‘Aarohan’.
Speaking about this year’s tournament, Aditya said that they were most definitely looking forward to playing against the team from SRCC (Shri Ram College of Commerce), identifying them as their fiercest arch-rivals. He mentioned that the team received their equipment late and faced issues with practice due to repeated power cuts, which made night practice at GymG a hassle.
For recruitment, they organise camps at the start of every semester to teach the basics of hockey to those who are interested. Aditya mentioned that he himself first picked up a hockey stick at one such camp in his second semester. This semester, they modified the recruitment process to ensure the students met the rigorous fitness standards of BOSM, and they might open up another round of recruitment post mid-semester examinations.
On a parting note, Aditya urged the student body to show up to support their teams and enjoy the electric atmosphere of BOSM on the field.