Confusion reigns over hockey team’s selection for Delhi CWG

Utter confusion prevailed over Indian hockey team’s selection for the upcoming Commonwealth Games with an anonymous mail on Saturday leaking the minutes of the selectors meeting which picked 16 players to represent the country in the mega event even as Hockey India denied any such development.

According to the minutes of the selection committee meeting sent by the anonymous mail, the 16 players were selected after a two-day trial which ended at Pune’s Belawadi Sports Complex on Saturday.

It also has the names of six standbye players apart from the 16-member team, which has only one goalkeeper in Bharat Chetri.

According to the minutes of the meeting today, the same set of 16 players will represent India in the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China in November.

However, Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra has questioned the authenticity of the mail, saying that team for the October 3-14 quadrennial event will be announced on Monday.

“We have not announced any team neither officially not unofficialy. I don’t know from where this has come. We will be announcing the team on Monday,” Batra told PTI.

As a matter of fact, the minutes of the meeting, sent from the anonymous mail, has the signatures of all the selectors — Balbir Singh, BP Govinda, Ajitpal Singh (Government nominee) and Zafar Iqbal (government nominee)apart from chief coach Jose Brasa and national coach Harendra Singh.

But both Govinda and Zafar too denied that the team has been selected.

“Nothing has been finalised as yet. We are not supposed to announce the team, it is Hockey India’s prerogative,” Zafar said.

“Who told you that the team has been announced?” Govinda questioned, adding, “HI is supposed to announce the team on Monday.”

He, however, said that the trials are over and more or less same set of players will form the base of Indian hockey team for the Asian Games.

Interestingly, the team, as per the mail, has only one goalkeeper in Chetri, five defenders (Dhananjay Mahadik, Sardar Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Gurbaj Singh, Sandeep Singh), six midfielders (Arjun Halappa, Vikram Pillay, Ravi Pal, Bharat, Sarvanjit Singh, Danish Mujtaba) and four forwards (Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandker, Shivendra Singh, Dharamvir Singh).