Gagan Ajit Singh

Guwahati, May 19: Arjuna awardee and two-time Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh has come up with a dual offer to the Assam hockey team.

Apart from expressing his intention to play for the state in the coming 33rd National Games here, Singh has also offered his technical expertise to groom a strong hockey team for the Oil India Limited (OIL) as well as Assam.

?I have started loving this part of the country and especially the potential that the place has in hockey. I would love to play for Assam in the National Games if the authorities concerned approach me through the state government,? Singh told The Telegraph over phone from Dibrugarh.

The star centre forward and skipper of the Indian team had attended the closing ceremony of the 50th inter-district hockey championship in Duliajan on Saturday, taking time off from his busy schedule to train for the Champions Trophy campaign.

When contacted, Assam Hockey Association secretary Tapan Das, however, expressed doubts about the state team?s ability to approach such a star player due to various constraints and without the government?s initiative. ?If the government notifies in writing the announced cash incentives for medallists, we could approach star players,? Das said, adding that Indian right-out Mukesh Kumar has also expressed his willingness to play for Assam.

The state government has declared cash rewards of Rs 20 lakh for gold medallists in team events, but no written notification has been issued till date. Sources in Dispur said there was confusion on whether the notification should be issued by the chief minister?s office, the National Games secretariat or the Assam Olympic Association. The announcement was made by chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who is also the chairman of the secretariat and the president of the association.

Singh said ?Assam is saturated with talent, but has no infrastructure to hone the skill of the players?. The two-time Asian Games player offered all help to prepare a strong Assam hockey team.

?A little bit of effort to groom potential talent can produce world class players. The need of the hour is two or three academies and a good astro-turf,? he said.

Singh also praised the OIL hockey team.