Tirkey and 10 other seniors find place in new probables list
New Delhi : After being ignored initially, India’s finest defender Dilip Tirkey was among the 11 players who were today included in the revised list of probables for major international tournaments for the next four years.

Facing severe criticism from the hockey fraternity for the omission of some senior players in the list of 48 probables keeping in mind the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2012 London Olympics, the ad-hoc selection committee reshuffled the list and shifted 11 players into the junior’s category to pave way for the veterans.

Apart from Tirkey, the other notable names who got a place in the probables’ list include mid-fielders Bimal Lakra, Ignace Tirkey and V S Vinay and forwards Deepak Thakur and Bharat Chhikara.

The players who were shifted to the juniors list include drag-flicker Diwakar Ram, Innocent Kullu, Manjeet Kullu, Ranjeet Singh, Birender Lakra Jr, Amardeep Ekka, Vikas Sharma, Vivek, Jagwant Singh, Pramod Kumar and Mandeep Antil.

Just 10 days back the five-men selection committee, chaired by Ajit Pal Singh excluded the veterans from the list, although they had said the players can always make a comeback to the side if the coaches recommend their names.

However, with uncertainity looming large over the men’s team coach’s appointment, the selectors said the reshuffle in the probables list was made after assessing their performance in the Guru Teg Bahadur hockey tournament held recently in Mumbai.

“We have shifted 11 players to the juniors list and in their place added 11 new names in the senior’s list,” ad-hoc selection committee Chairman Ajit Pal Singh said.

“There is scope for some more addition in the list,” he added.

The Olympian said the committee has also made some changes in the training schedule for both the junior and senior side and decided to hold two seperate camps, instead of one.

“The junior and senior camp will now be held seperately. Both the camps will start next month,” he said.

Meanwhile, ad-hoc committee Chairman and IOA President, Suresh Kalmadi informed that they have churned out a comprehensive home and away tournament schedule for both the junior and senior sides in order to give them maximum exposure.

He said India would host a double leg four-nation tournament, involving Pakistan, Germany and New Zealand, in Chandigarh and Jalandhar in February next year.

“After the four-nation tournament, we would also host the first Asian Championship next year, the dates for which are yet to be finalised by the Asian Hockey Federation,” Kalmadi said.

He also said that the senior team would embark on an Europe tour in July next year after which World Champions Germany would visit India in November before the Champions Trophy.