At 73, Avtar Bhurji is easily the oldest photographer covering the World Cup in Bhubaneswar. And it's been a long and arduous journey — from having wielded the hockey stick himself for Uganda at the 1972 Munich Olympics to now covering the game for Australia's Sports Media Group news agency.

"Our coach was Rajinder Singh Gentle, the legendary three-time Olympic gold medal-winning [London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956] India player," reveals Bhurji proudly as he takes a breather in between matches at the Kalinga Stadium here to recall the good old days. "Uganda finished 15th in the 16-team Munich Olympics, but holding Argentina [0-0] and the mighty Spain [2-2] were the highlights of the tournament for us," says Bhurji, who played as a midfielder.