Prabhjot, Thakur dropped from Azlan Shah probables

New Delhi , April 1: Senior Indian forwards Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur paid for their poor show in last month’s Hockey World Cup as they were dropped from the list of 45 probables for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup beginning in Malaysia on May 5.

The rest of the World Cup squad made it to the national camp in Pune from April 13 as the national selectors met on Thursday to pick the probables.

“We looked at the long-term prospects of the team and it was felt that the two may not make the cut for the London Olympics in 2012. Moreover, this is the best time to infuse young blood considering that we have to try and qualify for the Olympics by winning the gold at the Guangzhou Asian Games in December, failing which the team will have to again go through the cumbersome qualification process,” said a selector.

Forward S.V. Sunil, who was unfortunate to miss the World Cup with a knee injury, has been named in the list.
The selection meeting was attended by Balbir Singh, Muneer Sait, B.P. Govinda and Sita Mehta. Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal were present as government observers.

Age Correspondent