Only few youngsters stand out in recently-concluded hockey nationals

By Mihir Vasavda | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

The battle for power among the officials administering hockey may be hampering the sport’s development in India. But what worries the former players and the selectors is that very few young players have stood out with their performance at the national championship that concluded in Bhopal on Sunday.

Consequently, the selectors, who were scouting for a few fresh legs for the national team, have been forced to retain the same core group while forming a separate developmental squad of around 35 players.

One of the few young players, who managed leave a good impression on the selectors, is Karnataka centre-half SK Uthappa. With some stellar performances, the 20-year-old was adjudged the man of the tournament.

“The basic idea to have a developmental squad is that the players should have a smooth transition from playing at a junior level to senior. This bunch of players will be training together and will be sent for exposure tours outside the country,” said former international Dilip Tirkey, who is the government nominee for Hockey India’s selection committee.

Tirkey said he wasn’t happy with the talent pool that has emerged from the tournament.

Selector AB Subbaiah said, “We did not have an annual tournament that players would look forward to for quite some time. Once we get our domestic calendar in place, things will change.”

Meanwhile, Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh have been recalled to the national camp that will begin next month. Both players were excluded from the squad for the Azlan Shah Cup on disciplinary grounds. Sandeep finished as the second best scorer in the tournament with 11 goals, one goal less then top-scorer VR Raghunath of Karnataka.

Raghunath, too, features in the core group and has improved his chances of making a comeback to the national squad after a year.