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Govt drive to improve hockey standards

In a significant move, the Central government has approved the setting up a national centre of excellence in hockey at the Sports Authority of India's regional centre, in Bangalore.

A three member committee comprising former India captain and national coach Zafar Iqbal, former Olympian Charles Cornellius and a nominee of the Indian Hockey Federation will select about 50 outstanding junior players for training on a continuous basis to prepare them for representing the country.

The committee will identify at least four players for each position. According to the government directive, approximately half the players in training should, at any given time, be from the junior ranks.

The final selection process will be accomplished with the help of a physiologist and sports psychologist, besides the actual selection committee.

The Central government has informed the IHF that facilities at the centre would be of world standards. Training of individual players will be over a maximum period of three years, and devoted to players of the age group 16 to 21 years. If a player is not found up to national standards in the course of that time, he will be dropped and another promising youngster inducted into the scheme.

The Central guidelines indicated that selection of trainees should be on the basis of performance in important junior tournaments. The educational needs of the trainees will be met by means of a tie up between the centre and Bangalore University, National Open School and the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

While the centre is to be manned by a core group of Indian experts, foreign experts in the fields of penalty corner conversion, goal keeping, and physical fitness will be invited to the centre for specified time frames.

The project director will be appointed on a four year contract, and the centre will be run under the aegis of the IHF. The director, in tandem with a three man committee, will monitor the performance of players and submit quarterly reports to the government and the IHF.

UNI