Having emerged as the highest scorer at the Sultan Azlan
Shah hockey tournament in Malaysia, comeback man Sandeep Singh on
Wednesday lashed out at the previous hockey management for not
utilising his skills in Olympic qualifiers which resulted in the
team’s failure to book a berth for Beijing.

“If I could have played in the qualifying rounds for the Beijing
Olympics, the result could have changed. India would have booked the
Olympics berth,” Sandeep said.

“The management didn’t realise my value. They didn’t utilise my
talent also,” he said. The Indian hockey team recently failed to
qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in 80 years in
Santiago, Chile.

Despite being slammed by the experts, former coach Joaquim Carvalho
had dropped Sandeep claiming that he was injured. The player’s name
was not even considered for the national pre-Olympic squad. “They
didn’t know how to utilise a player for the team. That’s why the team
failed to perform well. India is known for hockey all over the world.
I really feel bad to see India missing the upcoming Beijing Games,” he said.
Sandeep scored nine goals during India’s silver medal winning run in
the tournament, beating four teams on the trot, before going down
narrowly to Argentina in the final.
Speaking on his return to the national side after one year, Sandeep
said: “I had something to prove to myself in Malaysia and also wanted
to evaluate myself. I was looking to return to the national side in a
fantastic way, just like this. “I wanted to convey my message to
everybody that Sandeep Singh is back again,” said a confident Sandeep.

He also praised teammates Diwakar Ram and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza,
besides others for playing a commendable role in the team’s spirited
show in the Azlan Shah tournament.

“Diwakar played an important role while Adrian foiled several
attacks. It’s good job done.” Sandeep said.

Ipoh: It was again a first half double strike that enabled India to hold off a fighting Malaysian side 2-1 and enter the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament. It is India’s fourth entry into the Azlan final.
 
First half goals by Shivendra Singh (9th) and Sandeep Singh (10th) put India ahead and they maintained the lead till the last minute before Mohammad Amin Rahim shot home a consolation goal for Malaysia.

With this win, India gathered 12 points from their six matches and set up a title clash against Argentina, who have finished with 14 points, on Sunday.

India, who lost their first two matches, continued with their impressive turnaround in the tournament to register their fourth consecutive victory and make the Azlan Shah final after a gap of 12 years.

India got into lead in the 9th minute when a Sandeep Singh slapshot from outside the Malaysian circle was deflected in by Shivendra Singh.
 
The spirited Indian forwards initiated a few more moves, one of which resulted in two consecutive penalty corners in the 10th minute. The Malaysians warded off the two threats but conceded a penalty stroke off the second short corner.

Sandeep Singh fooled the Malaysian custodian without much trouble to give his team a 2-0 lead.

After the break, Indian strikers showed some agility and created a few opportunities.

They won two more penalty corners, but could not extend their lead because of their poor execution.

The Malaysians stepped on the accelerator in the closing minutes to give some nervy moments for the Indians.

They got a penalty corner a few seconds before the hooter and Mohammad Amin Rahim at last put it past Adrian to score the consolation goal.

STATISTICS

Last 3 Finals India have played in Azlan Shah

(Source: indianhockey.com )

Ipoh, Malaysia, May 15 : Drag-flickers Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram kept India on course for a podium finish in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament with a stunning 2-1 victory over Pakistan here Thursday.

Sandeep (6th minute) and Diwakar (20th) scored a goal each, while mid-fielder Mohammad Saqlain (58th) reduced the margin for Pakistan.

The win against Pakistan gave India their third consecutive victory in the tournament after being defeated in the first two matches. India have moved up to the third position in the points tally with nine points from five matches.

Sandeep opened the account unleashing a powerful shot from India’s first penalty corner and a quarter of an hour later, Diwakar joined the party to bang home the second goal. India looked for more when they led 2-0 at the interval.

The Pakistanis looked out of sorts in the match. Their defence was overcautious and the attackers were less penetrating. They wasted four penalty corners in the opening session.

The second half also went on similar lines before Saqlain pulled one back for Pakistan in the 58th minute.

In the later stages of the match, the Pakistani forwards went all out and raided Indian box several times in search of the equaliser, but a resilient Indian defence thwarted them.

“Normally, we are not mentally strong enough to go for a win while facing Pakistan. But, for a change, we were psychologically not down today. That’s why from the beginning we were dominating,” Indian coach A K Bansal told newsmen after the match.

(Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com )

The newly-appointed ad hoc committee of the Indian Hockey  Federation (IHF) is contemplating arranging a test series against  Pakistan after the Beijing Olympic Games.

The ad hoc committee has discussed the probability of the home-and-away series with the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), PHF spokesperson  Altaf Sabir said here today.

“We have told them that Pakistan is keen to have this series as it  would help both the countries try out new players and gain competitive  exposure,” Sabir said.

Sabir said Pakistan would remain busy with their Olympic preparation in the next few months and “the modalities of the series could be worked out only after the Beijing Games.”

In 2006, the two neighbouring countries had played a six-match home-and-away series.

(Courtsey: www.indianhockey.com )

Ipoh, Malaysia: The young Indian outfit shed off their clumsy performance to post a comprehensive 3-1 win over Canada in the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament here Sunday.

Drag-flicker Diwakar Ram was the star for India as he scored a brace while Shiverndra Singh struck once. India could have won by a bigger margin had they not wasted as many as eight penalty corners.

After two morale-shattering defeats against New Zealand and Argentina, the Indian team led by Sardara Singh came out all guns blazing to pick their first points in the tournament and lifted themselves up from the bottom of standings.

The Indian team looked jaded at the start of the match and gave the impression that another disappointment is in store. But they fought back after being jolted by an early goal (ninth minute) from Wayne Fernando through a penalty corner.

India breached the Canadian defence with some swift moves through the flanks but failed to make them count. They got three penalty corners in the first half but squandered all of them.

India were hampered by the absence of their only goal scorer in the tournament, drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, who went out in the first half after being hit on the right knee while rushing out of the post during a penalty corner. Canada went into the breather leading 1-0.

India looked a transformed side in the second half. They ran hard and created more opportunities which took the opponents by surprise. Sandeep’s replacement 19-year-old Diwakar brought good fortune to the side as he struck twice in the second half.

India got a penalty stroke after S.V. Sunil’s strike, in their fourth penalty corner, hit a Canadian defender. Diwakar took a clean strike to score the equaliser in the 45th minute.

India raised their game and made several forays in the Canadian defence. They were rewarded with another penalty corner in the 51th minute and Diwakar made no mistake in converting it.

India scored another goal two minutes later. Captain Sardara Singh’s free hit from outside the box was deflected by Sunil and the ball went to Shivendra Singh, positioned in right corner of the post, who just tapped it inside.

* New Zealand beat India 4-3 g Argentina defeat Belgium 2-1IPOH: World number six Pakistan beat Malaysia 3-2 in their opening match of the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament at the Azlan Shah Stadium here on Thursday.

The Malaysian side made a promising start when forward Kevinder Singh slammed home a loose ball in Pakistan’s “D” in the first minute but Pakistan scored their equaliser through Muhammad Ateeq from a penalty corner in the 22nd. A minute later, Malaysia went in front again through penalty corner speaciallist Mohammad Amin Rahim. However, Pakistan levelled the score in the 28th through Rehan Butt who flicked home a cross and got the winner in the 60th when Muhammad Saqlan coverted from a penalty corner.

Earlier, New Zealand and Argentina registered their opening match wins against India and Belgium respectively. New Zealand clinched a narrow 4-3 win against India whereby all three goals by India were converted by penalty corner speciallist Sandeep Singh in the 14th, 20th and 60th. New Zealand’s goals were scored by Andrew Hayward (penalty corner, 22nd), Simon Child (field goal, 35th), skipper Philip Burrows (field goal, 45th) and Gareth Brooks (field goal, 54th).

In another match, Argentina made an upset by beating Belgium 2-1. Argentina scored first through Ezequiel Martin Sosa’s field goal in the 33rd but Belgium equalised through Jerome Truyens in the 54th. The winner came from a penalty corner by Tomas Argento Innocente in the 60th.