WSH augmenting India’s talent pool: Harender

Special Correspondent

Chandigarh defeated Mumbai Marines on home turf to notch the first victory in three games. Gurjinder Singh stepped up to showcase his ability as penalty corner specialist, drag flicking two rocket-like shots past in-form India goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza.

Gurpreet Singh of Pune Strykers had fired a hat-trick of penalty corner goals past Adrian in Mumbai’s previous home tie, picking his spot at the corners and slotting the ball in target area.

Gurjinder and Gurpreet are no crowd-pulling names in Indian hockey, just hard workers slogging it out in Bridgestone World Series Hockey, waiting for one penalty corner to catch the eye.

Tall and powerful in the Sandeep Singh mould, Gurjinder sends the ball flying past rushers and goalkeeper. He is named in the list of 48 Olympics probables announced for future preparations.

Gurpreet is of a smaller build, yet was effective in propelling the ball like a missile via hand-eye co-ordination and timing and is among leading goalscorers (six goals in three matches). Deceiving an experienced international goalkeeper like Adrian, known for rattling the great Sohail Abbas at Athens Olympics, thrice in succession was remarkable feat for the youngster from Namdhari XI.

Former national coach Harender Singh, in charge of Chandigarh Comets, pointed out how WSH was helping increase India men’s hockey talent pool. “Lesser known players are making news and winning matches, playing against internationals and performing when the team is under pressure.

“We can have a pool of talent larger than 48 named for the Olympics camp. Indian hockey will benefit long-term if the base is increased.”

He pointed out that fans come to watch players, not the coaches, support staff or officials. “Olympic Qualifier or WSH, it is the quality of players which matter. The people get excited watching players in action, not team coaches or others. Indian hockey has suffered enough for want of a larger players’ pool over the last 20 years, let us make use of this opportunity when new faces are making an impact to create more options for coaches working with national teams.”

2010 World Cupper Bharat Chikhara is another name on Olympics probable list turning out for Chandigarh Comets, alongside Gurjinder. The India winger, named in the midfield probables, admitted receiving an email about the national camp.

“The mail from Hockey India has come. I will request them for permission to join later,” said Bharat. “Training and playing alongside world stars like Rehan Butt is a learning experience. I want to make my mark.”

At a time when drag flicker Sandeep Singh is an established name in converting penalty corners at the world level, as witnessed in the Olympic qualifier, emergence of new faces like Gurjinder or Gurpreet in a competitive environment like WSH is a healthy sign.