Top Dutch players likely to miss Hockey India League
Some Hockey India League (HIL) teams are worried about missing the services of their top Dutch stars in the second edition as their national commitments could force the players to skip the league starting on January 23 next year. A team official said they have received letters from some of their players saying they have been told by the Netherlands chief coach to skip the tournament and concentrate on the preparations for the World Cup which is to be held four months after the HIL. Another team’s official said he was told by the HIL organizers that the Dutch players would not be available for the HIL. “The HIL organizers informed us that our players from the Netherlands will not be a part of the next edition because of the World Cup,” a Delhi Waveriders source told TOI. “But since we have only two Dutch players in the pool of 24, it’s not going to hurt us much.” However, one team which would be badly hurt if the pullout happens is the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. They have five Dutch players in their ranks and four of them are likely to be a part of the Dutch team in the World Cup. Wizards’ Dutch stars are their marquee player Teun de Nooijer, Jeroen Hertzberger, Sander Baart, Marcel Balkestein and Joilie Wouter. De Nooijer has already announced retirement from international hockey. “It will be very difficult to find replacements if they don’t make it to the HIL. We are optimistic that HIL will be able to resolve the issue. HIL is an event supported by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the world body should see to it that it does not end up in a crisis,” UP Wizards’ Abhijit Sarkar said. HIL chairman and Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra denied that the league had informed the franchises about the unavailability of Dutch players. He said the organizers have already started getting no-objection certificates from different countries regarding participation of their players in the next year’s HIL. “We have received NOCs from almost all the countries, be it Germany, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, England, New Zealand or Malaysia. We have received NOCs for almost 80 per cent of the players. The deadline for giving NOCs is October and we are sure we will be getting the rest soon,” Batra said. He tried to allay apprehensions that the Dutch players could give the tournament a miss. “It’s unlikely to happen as we already have the NOC of Dutch player Jaap Stockmann of Punjab,” he added. A total of 10 Dutch players turned out for four of five teams in the first HIL. While the Wizards had five in their ranks, Delhi played two and Punjab Warriors and Ranchi Rhinos fielded one each.
Indian hockey team to get psychologist
The Indian hockey team will get a sports psychologist after the Asia Cup. Camp in-charge Roelant Oltmans said they were keen on finding a specialist who would work with a team as a staff member rather than for a short term. “It would be good to bring someone in but not in these seven weeks. We don’t have time for it now. It’s part of the long-term plan and we need to find someone who’s willing to be with the team on a permanent basis. Not someone who flies in, delivers a session and goes away. He needs to be part of the staff,” he said.
New hockey turf soon
The SAI South Centre will get a new turf in six months’ time, it is learnt. The assurance came after hockey Oltmans urged SAI to change the turf. A requisition sent by the South Centre, after former chief coach Michael Nobbs highlighted the problem of a slippery pitch two years ago, has been approved and tenders will soon be floated for a new turf soon. Last year, the camp was shifted out of the city after Nobbs felt it would be too dangerous for his boys to practice there. Meanwhile, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, who sustained an ankle ligament injury during the Hockey India League, has been ruled out of the Asia Cup. (Source: TNN)
Former Captain Dhanraj Pillay Offers to Coach Hockey Team
One of Indian hockey’s noted strikers and former India captain Dhanraj Pillay has said he can turn the Indian hockey team into a winning unit in just one year if given the charge of the men’s national side. Sports Authority of India (SAI) last week sacked Indian men’s team’s chief coach Michael Nobbs labelling his two-year stint as “unsatisfactory”. Hockey India’s High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans has been asked to take over the team’s command until Nobbs’s replacement is named. But Pillay says India don’t necessarily need a foreign coach. “India has no dearth of talent as far as good coaches are concerned. Give me the charge and I promise to deliver results in one year provided I am given a free hand,” noted daily Deccan Chronicle quoted Pillay as saying. “Indian hockey does not need a foreign coach. We have been spending a lot of money on foreign coaches but from Gerhard Rach [in 2004 Athens] to Micheal Nobbs, [2012 London Olympics], the outcome is the same. Indian hockey is back to square one and we are now struggling to qualify for the World Cup,” the former India captain was quoted by Hindustan Times. Pillay, who is the coach reigning national champions Air India, said that his success with Air India is proof enough of his credentials as a coach. “There are instances in the past when the coach of the national championship winning side was given the charge of the senior men’s team. There are many examples like Cedric D’souza, Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Rajinder Singh or Harendra Singh. Then why not me?” (Source: IBNLive)