Hockey India to send its first team for Azlan event
BANGALORE: In a major shift in plans, Hockey India has decided to send its first team for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament, to be held in Ipoh from May 24 to June 3.

The federation, which had maintained until recently that a development team would figure in the seven-nation tournament, apparently changed its mind after realizing that the matches would be played on blue turf similar to the one being used at the London Olympics.

While organizers of the Olympics have claimed that the pitch is faster and truer than the green variety, inputs received by chief coach Michael Nobbs suggest that the ball can bounce and wobble depending on which side of the pitch it travels. Obviously, the blades of plastic grass uniformly lean on one side as the ball travels over them but not so in the opposite direction.

“The pitch is smooth and true or wobbly depending on which direction the ball travels. A few Australian coaches are even thinking of shifting to the left of the goal for penalty corners if the situation demands,” Nobbs told TOI on Thursday.

In the event, the think-tank feels that the team needs to spend more time on the blue pitch. “We are playing three games in London during the Olympic Test event. We will get to play more at Azlan Shah before moving to Santander in Spain in July. Practice and games on these blue pitches with yellow balls will be of big help to us,” Nobbs said.

Bharat Chetri will captain the team to Ipoh which gets around two weeks to regroup after the Olympic event in London (May 2-6). India will open their campaign against New Zealand on May 24 to be followed with matches against Korea (May 25), Great Britain (May 27), Malaysia (May 28), Argentina (May 30) and Pakistan (May 31).

The team:

Goalkeepers: Bharat Chetri (captain), Sreejesh PR. Defenders: Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath, Rupinder Pal Singh.

Midfielders: Birendra Lakra, Sardar Singh (vice-captain), Manpreet Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Kothajit Singh.

Forwards: SV Sunil, Dharamvir Singh, Sarvanjit Singh, Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Shivendra Singh, Danish Mujtaba, SK Uthappa, Tushar Khandker

Standbys: PT Rao, Harbir Singh, Pardeep Mor, Pradhan Somanna.