Sardar Singh player of the tournament
Haryana Hurricane Sardar Singh earned a huge recognition in his budding hockey career today when he was adjudged the Best Player of the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament. Two others, Arjun Halapa and Gurbaj Singh, were among the Azlan Shah Eleven, selected by seven coaches of the participating teams, hockey consultant Paul Lissek and a representative from the organizing side.
Sardar Singh relished the role of a defender here, keeping the marauding forwards of Australia and Pakistan in check in particular.
Arjun has been pivotal par excellence, and got the knack of producing penalty corners whenever the team needed the most. He excelled in this role, for instance, against Egypt in the second half when India almost struggled to break their citadel. It was fitting his services, which normally go unnoticed, .found a place in the new hall of fame.
Gurbaj has been going steady ever since he made his debut in the last Asian Games. He showed the game changing abilities in almost all the big tournaments, and it was not surprise he is again on top form.
It is in fact double delight for Sardar as he crossed his one hundredth caps when played his third match in the tournament.
The team today was eager to play the final, worked hard to be there. But the heavy rains spoilt the mood.
Sardar Singh’s luck with the Azlan continued this year as well. He was the captain when India started the final spree in 2008. A year before the scored the only goal in the bronze medal match against Korea.
This honour today is therefore all the more a fitting reward for his consistency.
Writers may be aware of the players performance rating this site published after the Delhi World Cup. It is a matter of satisfaction for all of us in stick2hockey.com that these three players occupied top rungs there also.