Resume Indo-Pak ties: Pillay

Calcutta: Former Indian hockey star Dhanraj Pillay once again endorsed the importance of having an Indian as the national coach as he said that the country doesn’t need a foreigner to look after the team.

Pillay was in the city to attend the inauguration of an artificial hockey turf, which will also be used as a tennis court, at the Khalsa English High School premises, on Friday.

Asked if he was optimistic about the present Indian coach, Harendra Singh, who will be in charge of the team during the Azlan Shah hockey tournament, in Malaysia, Pillay said: “We don’t have a new coach… The personnel are same who were there during Jose Brasa’s stint. But now we do have an Indian looking after the team. As I have said earlier, there’s no need of a foreign coach for the Indian team. Let’s hope that the team does well in the Azlan Shah meet.”

He also lauded Arjun Halappa, who has been appointed the captain of the Indian team, as he said that the player’s experience and sense of responsibility will help the team perform better.

“He will turn out to be a very good captain… He has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder and he is capable of handling them with success. He has played for the national team for 10-odd years and his experience would come handy. He should play without pressure and understand the requirements of the team,” Pillay said.

Another important issue that the Olympian touched upon was resuming Indo-Pak hockey ties, stressing on the fact that it would in turn raise the standard of the game in both the countries.

“Just like in cricket, India-Pakistan hockey series is a must… I think the authorities should work on the matter… Because if that doesn’t happen, the game won’t move forward for us,” he said.

Speaking on India’s preparation for the Olympics, Pillay pointed out that it is more important to concentrate on the qualifiers. “Olympics is of course important… But we should first focus on the qualifiers. The competition there is really tough.”

Former captain Dileep Tirkey, who was also present on the occasion, said that the blend of youth and experience in the Indian team is good. “This Indian team is basically a young side with a few seniors staying back. We can hope for a good performance from them… That is essential for the success in future,” Tirkey said.

Among the other sportspersons, who were present at the Khalsa English High School, were Leslie Claudius, Gurbux Singh, Keshav Dutt, Bir Bahadur Chetri, Baljit Singh Saini, Gundeep Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Anand Mandapaka, Naresh Kumar and Dr. Vece Paes.

There was also an exhibition hockey match between the Khalsa team and the Olympians, which ended in a 3-3 tie.