— Photo: Vino John

STICKING TO THE BASICS: Spanish coach Maurits Hendriks (left) with his wards Pol Amot (right) and David Alegre during a practice session on Tuesday.

Chennai: Gagan Ajit Singh replaces Dilip Tirkey as captain of the Indian hockey team for the Champions Trophy starting on December 10. This was announced by the President of the Indian Hockey Federation, K.P.S. Gill, on Tuesday.

"I am thrilled,'' said Gagan when informed about the appointment. He said he had been given a great responsibility in a tournament viewed as a mega event. Gagan, who is employed with the Punjab Police, is the son of former Olympian Ajit Singh, and nephew of the current manager and former captain of the team to the Munich Olympics, Harmik Singh.

Gagan conceded that he had learnt a lot from playing with a stalwart like Dilip Tirkey and was confident that he would get good support from every member of the squad.

Setback

Describing the decision to leave out Dilip Tirkey, as a "setback'', Mr. Gill said the captain was a "tower of strength in the defence.'' He added Tirkey had opted out of the tournament after feeling that as a player he could not contribute much on the field even after recovery. Mr. Gill said

Tirkey's sinus infection was well under control after medication and the doctors felt he could be fit in a few days.

Dwelling on the preparation for the Champions Trophy, Mr. Gill said the team had prepared well and the Aslan Shah Cup and the Rabobank event had been programmed as test events to pick the best available talent.

He said Tirkey's decision was "very correct.'' Mr. Gill also claimed India's participation in the Champions Trophy for the fourth year in a row was some consolation for the administration.

Mr. Gill disagreed with a questioner that Dilip had burnt out on account of the continuous participation in tournaments here and abroad.

He said the player had had "plenty of time to rest.'' In fact, Mr. Gill said it was with a view to giving sufficient rest that the IHF had decided to postpone domestic competitions.

The IHF Secretary, Jothikumaran, welcoming the gathering said everything connected with the championship was progressing well.

Former Olympian and coach, M.P. Ganesh, Director, Sports Authority of India, introduced Thyabb Ikram, Coaching Director of the International Hockey Federation, who is here to conduct a high performance course.

Mr. Thayabb announced the FIH grant of Euros 15,000 for the two projects on high performance coaching at the NIS, Patiala and SAI centre in Bangalore. He also promised a special training course would be offered to Indian coaches after December 17. The Coaching Director added that India and Pakistan should endeavour to regain their ratings.

New turf

Meanwhile, weather is the hottest topic of conversation among the European coaches.

Maurits Hendriks of Spain and Bernhard Peters of Germany were at pains to explain the difference in weather conditions prevailing here to what they are used to in Europe at this time of the year.

Spain, the defending champion, had a light workout last evening. "I am satisfied with the facilities, especially the new polyton turf,'' remarked Hendriks, whose role in enhancing the image of Spain as a world class combination is indeed remarkable.

Hendriks added that this was the surface at Leipzig where Spain won the European Cup and also the surface for the World Cup in Germany in 2006.

Team building

The soft-spoken Peters of Germany was confident the young team was well on the route to ascendancy. Germany has lost seven players due to retirement after the Athens Games and is in the process of building a new squad for the World Cup.

Germany finished third in the European Cup at Leipzig in August-September and did not do very well in the Rabobank Trophy either. India is scheduled to play a match against Spain at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Pakistan players

Pakistan has released the list of eight players for the combined team with India that will take on the Rest of the World XI for the Charity hockey match programmed by the International Hockey Federation on December 8.

This tie is organised to raise funds to help victims of the devastating earthquake that shattered parts of Pakistan and India in October.

Interestingly, the list does not contain the name of the suspended skipper Muhammad Saqlain who had been debarred from taking part in three international matches on account of the disciplinary action taken against him last week by the FIH Judicial Commission.

The PHF has announced that it would appeal against the verdict with the International Olympic Committee's Court of Arbitration (CAS). But the FIH sources have no definite information on this move so far nor has there been any confirmation of CAS agreeing to consider the appeal.

It is pointed out that if the CAS admits the appeal, then the three-match suspension would be ineffective, at least at the present juncture. In effect, Saqlain need not miss the three matches, against Australia, Netherlands and Spain.

The players released for the tie are: Salman Akbar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Mohummad Imran, Dilwar Hussain, Mudassar Ali Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Shabir, and Tarqi Aziz. The Indian list is expected tomorrow.

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