Karnataka Lions unveils its jersey

Karnataka Lions, a strong contender in the inaugural World Series Hockey (WSH), unveiled its jersey with hockey icon Dhanraj Pillay, team captain Arjun Halappa and former Olympian and coach Jude Felix in attendance at the KSHA hall here on Tuesday.

“It’s a good and well-balanced team. There won’t be any runaway winners in this series. Any team that works out its strategies well, plays good hockey and converts its chances can win,” was how coach Felix put it. “It’s sad that there are strictures on the players… but they are all a matured lot and should know their commitments,” he added.

Sad commentary

Dhanraj Pillay, who even in his heyday had verbal duels with the administration, was articulate in his reasoning: “During my playing days there was not so much money in hockey… today when there are franchises pumping in money for this wonderful game there are so many controversies… and it’s simple. Hockey is the loser thanks to the ego clashes amongst the administrators of the game. It’s a very sad commentary on the state of the game in our country.

“Thanks to the IPL and the BCCI’s style of functioning, cricket is well administered. Hockey will take a long time coming anywhere close to the way cricket is run in our country… but for the avenues to open up, the people running the sport need to put their house in order,” Dhanraj said.

Arjun Halappa, Karnataka Lions captain and former India captain, sounded very clear in his thought: “I may not be part of the Indian team today. I don’t know if my participation in WSH is the reason for me being dropped or whether it’s something else, but I’ve always said I would play in the WSH and continue saying the same even today,” he said.

Despite the controversies around WSH, Sporting Ace Director Kingshuk Gupta, said: “It does not matter whether Sandeep Singh or the other stars play or not; we have the likes of Arjun Halappa and Dhanraj amongst us, and Jude leading the fortunes…we (franchisees) are determined to go ahead and make a success of the event.”

Karnataka Lions plays Delhi Wizards in Delhi on Friday (March 2) and then hosts Bhopal Badshahs at the KSHA stadium on March 5.