Depleted Strykers to take on Marines

MUMBAI: The ‘camp bomb’ – dropped by Hockey India (HI) on Monday by announcing a 48-member probables list and a national camp from March 5 – seems to have scared the national players away. The lot that just helped India qualify for the London Olympics are likely to give a cold shoulder to the World Series Hockey. But the show must go on.

After Wednesday’s opening match of the WSH between Chandigarh Comets and Bhopal Badshahs, the action shifts to Mumbai and Jalandhar. On Thursday, Mumbai Marines will take on Pune Strykers at the MHA Mahindra Stadium, while Sher-e-Punjab will clash with Chennai Cheetahs in Jalandhar.

The Strykers suffered a big blow even before the start of the event when Diwakar Ram, the main cog in their defence, was ruled out from the tournament with a hand injury. They have also lost livewire forward Gurvinder Singh Chandi, and two Railway players – midfielders Vinod Gopi Nair and Amit Gowda. Railways are believed to have barred their players from the WSH, while Chandi has opted out because of HI’s diktats.

The Marines, who would be playing at ‘home’, were thumped five-nil by Strykers in a practice game recently. “There’s a big difference between practice match and real match, so let’s not take that result seriously. I think the teams are evenly balanced. They have a legendary coach guiding them (Andrew Meredith), so we know it will be tough,” felt Strykers manager Mervyn Fernandes.

Marines have lost SV Sunil, who was a revelation upfront during the Olympic qualifiers, and Yuvraj Walmiki, who’s injured. “Sunil will be missed, but we can’t do much about it. But we have a great coach in Andrew Meredith. His style is different, for him there are no stars on the pitch, it’s all about how you play as a team,” said Marines midfielder Viren Rasquinha, who is returning to the game after four years.