It’s been one helluva long wait for Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Dhillon and Baljit Saini. They’ve waited and waited, hoping that a recall to the national squad is just a tournament away. But now that they have been ignored for the four-nation meet in Japan, as well as the fitness camp in Barog, most people have taken it for granted that the trio does not feature in the Indian Hockey Federation’s (IHF) Athens scheme.
The IHF, though, has not totally ruled out the inclusion of Pillay & Co. in the Athens-bound party. A couple of players from outside the pool of 30 may still be considered before picking the Olympic probables in July.
I would personally like the three seniors to be called to the national camp so that the coaches and physical trainer can test their fitness thoroughly. If the management is convinced that somebody like Pillay can last 90-100 minutes, age should not be made a criterion. Otherwise, just forget them and plan with the resources you’ve got.
Make no mistake, the experience of players like Pillay can prove to be invaluable in the Olympics. Even if they are drafted into the squad at the eleventh hour, I don’t think they’ll have a problem adjusting with other players.
There’s another important factor in judging the worth of a player. No one is above the game and if the presence of any particular individual leads to problems within the team, he should not be selected, however great he is. Pillay, for example, has not been able to get on with his coaches, starting from Cedric D’Souza to Rajinder Singh. So if the IHF is trying to preserve the ‘unity’ of the team by keeping out Pillay, they are totally justified in their action.
The IHF, for its part, should have finished off the process of experimentation by now. In fact, a pool of 28-30 players should have been identified in January itself. The final squad could have been picked after the Japan meet and tried out in the four-nation Dutch tourney (in June-July).
Just 16 can be picked for the Olympics, and not 18 as in the World Cup. With Devesh Chauhan, Dilip Tirkey, Kanwalpreet Singh, Bimal Lakra, Ignace Tirkey, Viren Rasquinha, Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh and Deepak Thakur virtually selecting themselves and quite a few near-certainties, not many spots will be left ‘vacant.’ The remaining berths should have been filled with some of the junior Asia Cup-winning members, after settling the issue involving the senior trio.
Sandeep Singh — who, incidentally, is not Jugraj’s brother as was reported by the agencies during the recent Asia Cup — has emerged a strong candidate for the role of the penalty corner specialist after his 16 goals in Karachi. The selectors are also trying out Jatinderpal Singh. With Len Aiyappa out of the reckoning, one of these young men will be picked for this most crucial slot in which we continue to miss Jugraj.
The others to impress greatly in Karachi were forwards Sandeep Michael and Tushar Khandekar. It won’t be a surprise if one of them, or even both, make the Athens cut. I don’t think these boys will find it difficult graduating to the big league. After all, they have the confidence of a championship-winning campaign behind them. In fact, the junior Asia Cup title was quite a boost for Indian hockey — especially as it came at a time when the senior team had got out of the winning habit.
The Olympic groupings are out, and India find themselves in a tough pool with Australia and The Netherlands. The key to qualifying for the semi-finals will be the other three matches. If we win all of those, I’m certain we’ll advance to the last four.
