Spotlight on hockey has been beneficial: Gagan Ajit

MUMBAI: Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh, who has staged a comeback to competitive hockey after four years, is happy that the country’s national game, down in the doldrums in the not too distant past, is showing signs of improvement.

“The World Series (WSH) is good for Indian hockey. Hockey is continuously in the news for the last three months starting with the Olympic qualifiers’ camp, then the Olympic qualifiers (held in Delhi last month) and now the World Series that began as soon as the qualifiers ended,” said the former India frontliner, representing Sher-E-Punjab in the event.

WSH commenced on February 29 after the qualifiers ended on February 26, with India becoming victorious and earning a berth to the upcoming London Olympics.

“Like cricket, something or the other is happening in hockey which is good for the game. WSH is a very good platform for the players they can play here and perform,” said Gagan Ajit, who played for India in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games, thus emulating the feat of his father Ajit Singh who played in the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games.

The 31-year-old player is happy to have linked up with his erstwhile India teammates Prabhjot Singh, the team’s captain, and Deepak Thakur under coach Rajinder Singh – who guided India to the title in the 2001 Junior World Cup at Hobart, Tasmania.

“We played under the same coach and have a good understanding,” said Gagan Ajit, who is to play against Mumbai Marines tomorrow at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium after a decade.

“I will be playing here after many years, played here last in 2002. I was out of the game but used to train at the (police) academy in Jalandhar and we have a (artificial) turf at our ground,” said the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Punjab Police.

Gagan Ajit was sad that the current India players were not turning out for the franchises they had signed for after Hockey India (HI) announced a national camp.

But he was confident the tussle between HI and its rival Indian Hockey Federation, that is organising WSH in partnership with Nimbus Sport, would come to an end.

“There should not have been a problem in all players playing here but there is a different perspective from one side (HI). But I think a time will come when this is sorted out as everyone wants the betterment of hockey.

“How soon, I cannot say as some of the things are pending in the High Court now.”

The former international felt that the home and away format of WSH, absent from its defunct predecessor Premier Hockey League (PHL), has brought the fans back to the game.

“PHL was also very good but unfortunately lasted only for three years. There was no home and away games which WSH has which is a very good thing as all cities are involved. The spectators are involved; they are watching their team playing the away game and coming to watch and support them in home games, which is very good.”

He said old timers like his own father welcomed the WSH. “When they (former players) came to know they felt very happy, felt these kinds of things should happen which were not there during their days. (They felt) players should get money as it involves lot of hard work. They are happy players are getting good payment for training hard and playing.”

Looking forward to tomorrow’s game and the tournament, he said all eight teams were more or less equal.

“Bombay (Mumbai Marines) is a good team … they did not start well but are now playing well. Pune (Strykers) is a very balanced team. I think all eight teams are equal.

“The pace is good. Two days ago when Bombay (Mumbai Marines) played against Delhi (Wizards), it was a very fast game. Everyone is playing fast and it is beneficial to Indian hockey,” he added.