Sardara to play in Belgian Hockey League
NEW DELHI: Experienced full-back Sardara Singh, the only Indian player to find a place in the recently-announced International Hockey Federation’s All Star men’s team, will make his debut in the Belgian Hockey League next year.
Sardara had signed a contract with Brussels based Lauven club, who has also invited star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh.
“I have signed a contract with Lauvens club and will play for the first time in Belgium Hockey League. I hope it will be a learning experience for me and will be handy before the Olympic qualifiers,” Sardara said.
He said the contract is for three months and he will be leaving for Brussels in the first week of February.
“We have to work hard for the Olympic qualifiers now and I think this opportunity will definitely help me in improving my game further before the qualifiers,” said Sardara.
Sardara began his career as a forward and then shifted to the midfield before converting to a sweeper-back.
He was recently included in this year’s 18-men FIH All-Star team along with hockey legends Jamie Dwyer of Australia and veteran Teun de Nooijer of the Netherlands.
“It is a dream-come-true for me to be in the same team with the likes of Jammie (Dwyer) and Nooijer (Teun de), Sardara said.
After failing to win the gold in the Guangzhou Asian Games, which would have secured India an automatic place in the 2012 Olympics, Sardara said there will be additional pressure on the team in the qualifiers.
“There will be immense pressure for sure but our team is in good nick and we have to maintain that. We have performed well last year and we can continue with the rhythm. We will qualify for London Olympic 2012 for sure,” he said.
Asked about his preference for Indian team’s next coach, he said, “I like the combination of a foreign and one national coach. We did learn a lot during Jose Brasa and Harendra Singh’s tenure.”