The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Jugraj out of Olympics

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Sport

Sport - Hockey

Jugraj out of Olympics

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, JUNE 15. Drag-flicker Jugraj Singh has been ruled out of the Athens Olympics.

"I am certain that he won't make it to the Olympics,'' said the President of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), K. P. S. Gill. "But the way Jugraj has come up, I am sure he will be back to his best in future,'' Mr. Gill added.

Though Jugraj has recovered from the road accident in Jalandhar, he still has some twitch. He has been undergoing fitness training with 25 probables at the Athlete's Performance Institute in Arizona, Phoenix.

"The boys are training hard and have shown tremendous improvement in physical efficiency,'' Mr. Gill said.

Asked what he thought of the draw for the Olympic Games with India meeting Holland in its opening match, Mr. Gill said, "that is a good draw.''

"To play such a tough team early in the tournament will keep us going. In the last Champions Trophy we played Holland in the opening match and led 3-0 before losing our way,'' Mr. Gill said. "This time we will be ready for Holland.''

After the training in the U.S., the 26 probables will be trimmed to 16 plus four reserves. "Only those will go to Germany for the second leg of the training camp following the four-nation Robobank Cup in Holland,'' he said.

After the Germany camp, the Indian hockey team will head directly to Athens. The team is planning to reach the Olympic Village on August 5 well before clashing with Holland on August 15.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport