Wizard Kumar for the Wizards..

MALAYSIAN goalkeeper S. Kumar, a wizard with both feet,  will turn up for Utter Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India  League starting on Jan 16.
    He will be making history of sorts for he will be the first  goalkeeper from Malaysia to play in a foreign league when he  turns out for a Lucknow-based team which also holds one of  the highest paid marquee players of the tournament, Teun de  Nooijer from Netherlands.
    However, the Malaysian No 1, as well as Asian No 1  goalkeeper ended up playing hockey by chance, not craft.
    For in 1994 when he was studying at the Tunku Besar  Secondary School, he was training with the school football  team when  he was approached by the late V. Sivapatha sundram to give hockey a try, as a goalkeeper, since he could  kick with both feet.
     Kumar was assured by Siva that he only had to be the  reserve keeper for the school team, but little did he know that  his whole life will change after that.
   Not only did he end up as the first choice keeper, but he  went on to represent the national team, making his debut at  the 1999 Sea Games in Brunei.
     He now has 203 caps, played in two World Cup Qualifiers  (2006 China and 2009 Invercargil) besides three Olympi  Qualifiers (2004 Madrid, 2008 Japan and 2012 Dublin) but  never once played in the actual events as Malaysia failed to  qualify.
     UP Wizards will be coached Roelant Oltmans and the  technical director of the team is Dhanraj Pillay, the former  Indian captain who played in the Malaysian Hockey  League.
    The team has two goal keepers from the international  circuit in George Bazeley from Australia, Kumar, and one  from India, Sreenivasa R. Katharu.
     “Never in my wildest dreams did I think of this moment,  that I will be auctioned and be part of the HIL,” said Kumar  whose bid by the Wizards was US15,000.
   Malaysiann striker Faizal Saari was bought by  Mumbai  Magicians for US25,000.
     Hockey India League used a unique system where teams  have to bid during a ‘playe auction’ to rope in the best.
   “It is not only a personal honour but one for the country as  well for I had to compete with well known custodians from all  over the world. And to think that I was picked over some  household names in goalkeeping has further boosted my  confidence.
     “It will be a totally new experience for me as I will be up  against the world’s best players, what more playing in India,  where hockey is amongst the most watched sport after  cricket.
     “This is a chance of a lifetime and I hope to fight for a place  in the starting XI as it will be tough competing against  Bazeley.”
     Kumar owes much of his interest in hockey to his late father  S. Subramaniuam who passed away when Kumar was  representing the nation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.  And it was with the encouragement of his mother K. Sarasah  that Kumar continued playing the sport.
    Not many are aware the sacrifices that Kumar had to make  as a parent, for he was in China for the 2010 Asian Games  when his first son Varshan was born two years ago. And he  could only spend hours beside his wife L. Parimalah and their  second born Haarshenn before catching the flight to Am sterdam for a goalkeeper coaching stint in November last  year.
     “My family is very understanding and have been sup porting me. This month-long stint requires a lot of sacrifices  and I am indebted to my wife for being able to manage the  kids,” said Kumar who has won several accolades during his  career as the best goalkeeper in many an international  tournament.
    Kumar feels that there is a wide gap between the senior  and junior goalkeepers as both he and Ros;an Jamaluddin  are in their 30's.
    “It all boils down to match exposure. And one will not get  that by sitting on the bench and waiting for their chance.  Thus my advise to the keepers in the junior squad is to look  for teams in the Malaysia Hockey League where they will get  to play instead of warming the bench,” said Kumar.

Hockey India League ko Hero mil gya..

NEW DELHI: The organizers of the Hockey India League (HIL) signed on Tuesday a three-year deal with the Hero MotoCorp which will be the title sponsor of the five-team competition. The deal is believed to be worth crores.
    Though Hockey India declined to reveal the amount, a senior official of the federation said the league will clinch more deals with other co-sponsors in the coming days.
   "We cannot reveal much about the deal with Hero, but we can tell you that we are in talks to bring on board telecom partners, airline partner and other partners in the coming four-five days," HI secretary general Narinder Batra told TOI.
   He also revealed that HIL has so far raised over Rs 100 crore as sponsorship money and franchise fees.
   With this sponsorship, the tournament will be called the Hero Hockey India League. "Hockey holds a special place in our hearts and we are pleased to partner with HIL. I am sure that the initiative taken by Hockey India to start this league will go a long way in developing the game and bring back the glory days," Pawan Munjal, managing director and chief executive officer of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said in a statement released by HI.
   Hero was the title sponsor of the 2012 Olympics qualifier hockey tournament which was held in Delhi. It was also the title sponsor of the men's hockey World Cup held in New Delhi in 2010.
   The inaugural HIL will be held from January 14 to February 10. Five teams - Delhi Waveriders, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Uttar Pradesh Wizards, Mumbai Magicians and Ranchi Rhinos will compete in the inaugural season at five venues - Delhi, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ranchi.

Times of India

Back to work..

After a long break from hockey, I am back to work today....

HAPPY 2013 GUYS!

The almost there boyz...

By Jugjet Singh
 
MALAYSIAN Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah had a strong feeling that the Dublin Olympic Qualifier would be the turning point of Malaysian hockey.
  That is why he took a 30-strong delegate to Ireland to watch and return with the gold medal which would have taken his charges into the London Olympics.
  Alas, his men gave away the gold to South Korea, silver to Ireland and returned home with the bronze instead.
  After much soul searching Tengku Abdullah decided that his charges need the touch of a foreign coach and his council stamped their backing on South African Paul Revington.
  Revington was one step better than the previous coach Tai Beng Hai, as he had guided Ireland to a silver in Dublin.
  In came Revington and his assistant Arul Selvaraj, and off they went to Argentina for their first experience with the national players. The Champions Challenge I got off to a rousing start, when Malaysia beat all and sundry, even South Korea to top Group A.
  And then the downhill slide started and South Korea whacked Malaysia 6-3 in the semi-finals and Revington's men finished fourth and failed, yet again, to play in the higher Champions Trophy bracket.
  South Korea were then humiliated 5-0 by Argentina in the final and the South American moved into the Champions Trophy next year leaving behind Asian sides Malaysia, Korea and Japan in the Challenge category.
  India and Pakistan also had a super run in the initial stages of the Champions Trophy in Melbourne, but were reduced to the bronze playoff by Australia and Netherlands.
  Pakistan claimed the bronze and India fourth in Champions Trophy, which is a super result considering India finished last in the London Olympics.
  And on the local front, the MHC saw a poor turnout of fans for all their tournaments with even the Malaysia Hockey League being shunned and the seats empty even during knock-out stages.
  The Junior Hockey League, Razak Cup and even the Aazlan Shah Cup saw poor turn-outs at stadiums and this is a worrying trend which the MHC must try to arrest soon.
  The next big assignment for Revington is the Asia Cup in Ipoh next year which offers a ticket to the World Cup, but it is easier said than done, as India, Pakistan and Korea would be the teams to beat again for the gold.
  The easier path would be the World League, where Malaysia will play Round Two in Russia, and if they enter the final round of eight teams, they are almost assured of a place in the World Cup.
  Tengku Abdullah never gave up on the team after Dublin, and its time the team give him a reason to smile by at least playing in the final of the Asia Cup.
  All the other achievements, including winning the FIH Executive Board elections on a landslide of votes and hiring a top-notch coach, would cone to nought if the team fails to play in the World Cup from the two routes that the FIH have provided them with.
  At the Asian front, Malaysia ended as bronze medallists in the second edition of the Asian Champions Trophy in Oman.
  It was the last assignment this season for the senior side, and they held Pakistan 3-3, beat India 5-3 but their prelimanary round 2-1 defeat to China derailed hopes of playing in the final.
  However, Malaysia exacted revenge when they beat China 3-1 in the bronze playoff. Pakistan beat India 5-4 for the gold medal.
  Malaysia scored 20 goals in Doha, and 22 goals in the Champions Challenge I in Argentina, which indicates we have good strikers, but the defense still needs work to make an impact next year.
  On the juniors front, coach K. Dharmaraj's players were brought crashing down to earth when they ended last in the Sultan of Johor Cup tournament after winning the inaugural edition last year.
  The juniors then went to India to play in the Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup in Bhopal and lost all three matches. It was their first step towards making an impact in the Junior World Cup next November in New Delhi.
  As for the MHC, their administration side needs to buck up, as news about local tournaments, and results of overseas matches are very slow to trickle from their side.
  States are also complaining that the parent body does not keep them abreast of developments, as those manning the daily aspects of the MHC are very slow to act and even slower to send out e-mails on tournaments and results.