Diwakar to give Azlan Shah a miss

Indian drag-flicker Diwakar Ram is going to miss the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held at Ipoh, Malaysia in May despite being named in the probables by Hockey India. “I have my third year B A exams from April 24 and I think at this stage I should concentrate on exams,” said the youngster, who was playing for the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in the last league clash of the Mumbai Hockey Super League against Air India. The game ended in a 2-2 draw but Air-India emerged winners on the basis of maximum points at Mahindra Stadium on Monday.

The Gorakhpur resident was not among the best performers at the recently concluded World Cup in New Delhi where India finished eighth. “I played in all six games of the World Cup and got to hit three penalty corners and unfortunately failed to score on any of them. But I did manage to score one against South Africa on the rebound when a Sandeep Singh drag-flick was not clearly stopped,” said the boy, who began his hockey career from the Uttar Pradesh Government-run hockey hostel at Rampur.

Diwakar said his first ever World Cup was a good learning experience. “I got to see some of the biggest stars in the game and watching their attitude towards the game was great,” says Diwakar Ram, who also had an opportunity to interact with his idol Sohail Abbas. “He is still the same after so many years. His execution is near perfect. He asked me to keep practicing as much as possible as that is the only way to sharpen your drag-flick skills,” said Diwakar who normally hits 150 to 100 drag-flicks everyday.