Azlan Shah Cup - January 2004

david · Post by **david** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 4:36 pm

FINAL TEAM

GOALKEEPERS: Kamaldeep Singh, Adrian D'Souza
FULLBACKS: Harpal Singh, William Xalxo, Sandeep Singh
MIDFIELDERS: Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Len Ayyappa, Prabhdeep Singh VS
Vinay and Girish Pimpale
FORWARDS: Dhanraj Pillay, Baljeet Dhillon, Sandeep Michael, Tushar Khandekar
Arjun Halappa, Hari Prasad and Rajpal Singh.
Coahces: Harendra Singh, Clarence Lobo, Ramandeep Singh
Goalkeeping coach: AB Subbaiah

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 6:17 pm

David, is there anyone in junior ranks or in current indian team to slip into the huge shoes of Dhanraj Pillay?

david · Post by **david** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 4:58 am

A very difficult question....

I think it will be very difficult for any youngster to get into Dhan's shoes.

Rajiv had the talent and skill but he faded away after the knee operation.

Now we have talented Junior players like Sandeep Michael (who is flashy) but I guess the load will fall on Gagan Ajit Singh. Both have a long way to go.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 10:10 pm

(Just keeping an eye on India's opponents)

Australia has brought an experienced team to the Azlan Shah Cup tournament with a goal of eventually winning the Olympic gold medal. Australia has won just about all the major international tournaments except for the Olympic gold! They are planning a 30-match run before going to Athens.

Australia set their sight on elusive Olympic gold

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:44 am

I'd say that, apart from Gagan Ajit Singh and Sandeep Michael, Dipak Thakur also has the potential to eventually fill Dhanraj's shoes.
And ofcourse among the full-backs, Jugraj Singh (once he recovers from injury) remains peerless.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:50 am

The constant chopping and changing of goal-keepers worries. Top-notch 'keepers are always hard to find, and we've always treated ours cavalierly. Ashish Ballal was one glaring example, but Devesh Chauhan also appears to be suffering the same fate...or is he simply being "rested"?

david · Post by **david** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 1:40 pm

Both Deepak Thakur and Prabjot Singh are equally talented like Gagan and all of them made debut almost the same time after being together in the Jr WC and flourished under the guidance of Cedric.

I mentioned Gagan because of the similarities of style and flashyness with Dhanraj.

REG the GKs we cannot compare either Devesh or Jude (earlier) with Ashish Ballal. But both of them did well to establish themselves.

Devesh is being rested. But I see Adrian as a huge potential who can put Devesh on his toes in the coming days.

The only puzzle is the continued confidence the IHF bosses show in Kamaldeep, who has not done anything worthwhile to justify his place in the INdian team.

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 6:11 pm

I am surprised AB Subbiah is the goalkeeper coach. I thought Ashish Ballal was involved with indian goalkeepers sometime back? I know Subbiah was an excellent tiebreaker goalie

Also whatz Ashish Ballal currently doing?

Wasn't Rajiv the one who had great under 19 world cup campaign (in 1997?). Is he playing hockey domesticallY?

david · Post by **david** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:55 am

Ashish Ballal was appointed as GK coach under Cedric. But just after a few days Ballal left the camp after taking Gills permission and decided to concentrate on his academy in Bangalore.

The Dhanraj-Ballal hockey academy is doing very well. They collect used cartridges and raise money.

david · Post by **david** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:00 am

Forgot about rajiv.
Yes, he is the sensation at Milton Keynes in 1997 Jr WC under Baskaran. They won the silver. He went to US and came back and played in the domestic events for a while but not the `force' anymore.

Subbaiah is doing a great job with the GKs and the rise in the standards of Devesh Chouhan can be attributed to him.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:50 pm

Rajiv Mishra was the most talented of this lot, and the most flamboyant. But a serious injury (after an accident) left him semi-paralyzed for a while, and nobody really paid attention to his treatment. There was a poignant story about him in IndiaToday about 6-9 months ago: he is now a ticket-collector in the Railways, struggling to heal himself and get fit enough to play competitively again. A very sad tale indeed.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 6:20 pm

You are absolutely correct about Rajiv Mishra, PKB.

Here is the transcript of the interview with KPS Gill re: Rajiv Mishra.

Parduman Mishra: Sir, what is up on Rajiv Mishra front. He was supposed to walk into Dhanraj Pillay's shoes. Today he is apparently out due to injury. Why is the IHF not trying to help such a talented player?

KPS Gill: Rajiv Mishra had got injured when we had selected him for a camp but we asked him to take rest. He however particpated in a tournament which further aggravated his injury. He is still suffering from the after effects of that injury and one does not know if he will ever recover. He has taken treatment at various places but that does not seem to have helped him to heal his injury.

Chat with KPS Gill

david · Post by **david** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:23 am

I heard that he was forced to play for his employers Railways in a domestic tourney and his injury became very bad. Now he is not even in the news.

david · Post by **david** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 4:25 pm

Ten sports will telecast live all the Indian matches besides the final of
the 13th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey, commencing at Kaula Lumpur from Thursday.

8 Jan vs Germany 2035 hrs IST
9 Jan vs Pakistan 1835 hrs IST
11 Jan vs Malaysia 1835 hrs IST
13 Jan vs Australia 2235 hrs IST
14 Jan vs Korea 2235 hrs IST
16 Jan vs Spain 1835 hrs IST
18 Jan final 2035 hrs IST

kathiresan_v · Post by **kathiresan_v** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:02 am

so... in India, who have cable connections can watch the indian matches live, right? again, is it a live telecast, david?, why the timing are diferent then?.

Kathir