Dilip Turkey

Hyderabad: Putting behind the criticism by Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) chief K.P.S. Gill, Gagan Ajit Singh and Dhanraj Pillay will be taking part in the Premier Hockey League (PHL) beginning here Thursday.

While Gagan Ajit refused to comment on the remarks made by Gill, Maratha Warriors skipper Viren Rasquinha confirmed that Dhanraj will be taking part in the PHL for his side.

Skippers of the five teams ? Dilip Tirkey (Hyderabad Sultans), Arjun Halappa (Bangalore Hi-fliers) and Ignace Tirkey (Chennai Veerans) expressed confidence that PHL would give a boost to the game and bring it into limelight during the unveiling of the trophy here Tuesday.

Gagan Ajit, captain of Sher-e-Jallandar, said his team would start favourite as it has a good forward line. He, however, refused to comment on the remarks made by Gill about his attitude and game. ?What can I say to that?? was all that he could mumble.

Gill had said that Gagan Ajit, one of the top strikers of the age, to get his basics right. And, in a virtual affront to his critics, he had also said that he refused to consider many recent Olympians as Olympians.

The fact remains, that whatever the stature of the players, or coaches (another regularly sacked lot in Indian hockey), few has had the temerity to speak out against the supercop who has run the IHF with a stern hand.

Viren said the Maratha Warriors were looking forward to the game as the team had a mix of experience (Dhanraj Pillay) and young talent. Bangalore Hi-fliers were also a balanced team and could take on any challenge, hoped skipper Hallappa, while Dilip Tirkey was relying on the support of home crowd for Hyderabad Sultans to give a commendable performance.

The PHL trophy, bearing Swarovski crystal has been designed by Vibhor Sogani, who had also designed the Samsung Trophy for the 2004 India-Pakistan series.