Cedric back as coach; Ramandeep, Riaz dropped

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 20. Cedric D'Souza has been brought back as the chief coach of the Indian hockey team, replacing V. Baskaran, for the World Cup qualifying tournament to be held at Edinburgh in July 17 to 29.

Like Cedric D' Souza, Ashish Ballal also stages a comeback, but in a different capacity. The gritty goalkeeper, who was instrumental in India regaining the gold in Asian Games after a gap of 32 years, has been named as an assistant coach (for goalkeeping) for the coaching camp, commencing at the NIS, Patiala from January 5.

In the just-concluded Jammu National, Ballal also played his part in Indian Airlines winning the cup. At a time when he might have been talked about as attempting to stage a comeback into the Indian team, Ballal has been named a coach, even before his retirement.

Ballal, it may be recalled was dropped along with five other players after India's triumph at Bangkok in 1998. Also to be sacked at that time was the winning team's coach, M. K. Kaushik, Baskaran being preferred. Now, after India's seventh- place finish at the Sydney Olympic Games, Baskaran finds himself out of the chief coach's job.

Also out are two of the senior players, Ramandeep Singh, who led the country at the Olympics, and Mohammed Riaz, a utility player who has functioned in the midfield as well as in the frontline for the Indian team in recent years.

Announcing the list of probables at a press conference here on Wednesday, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President, Mr. K. P. S. Gill, said: ``I met a lot of people (for selecting the coach) and got overwhelming advice to get Cedric back. The coach, too, has given his consent and the time-frame (for the tenure) will be decided only after future meetings. '' D' Souza was the coach of the Indian teams at the 1994 Sydney World Cup and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Asked about Ramandeep and Riaz's omission, Mr. Gill said: `` They did not take part in the recently held Nationals at Jammu. Apart from this, we also felt in Syndey Olympics that their playing days are over. ''

The captain of the team would be selected just before the three- match Test series against Germany at home from February 26.

The IHF has appointed Dr. J. P. S. Siddhu, who has done a course in sports medicine and psychology, as the psychologist attached to the Indian team. Ranjit Singh, who was working with goalkeepers and on penalty corner conversions as an expert, has been retained and will work jointly with Ballal. The other assistant coach will be C. R. Kumar.

The probables for the junior World Cup to be held in Hobart will be selected after the junior Nationals. Seven junior players, goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, Arjun Halappa, Bimal Lakra, Deepak Thakur, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prajot Singh and Bipin Fernandez figure in the senior probables list, too. `` In all probability, all these players will play in the junior World Cup, too, '' said the IHF Secretary, Mr. K. Jothi Kumaran.

The IHF Secretary also informed that a three or four- nation series involving India, Pakistan and one or two other countries was being planned to be held in the UAE and Qatar sometime in March-April next year. With the 2006 Asian Games to be held in Doha, there was some interest in promoting hockey in that region, Mr. Jothi Kumaran said. He added that the proposal would have to await clearance from the Union Government.

In accordance with the requirements of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to have two astro-turfs and a floodlit stadium for any international tournament, the Capital's National Stadium will have a new turf in the near future.

``Also it was recently announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, to have floodlighting arrangement and a new turf in Jammu. So by next year, Jammu should be ready as an international venue, '' said Mr. Gill, who also added that the merger of the IHF and the Indian Women's Hockey Federation would be announced officially in the near future.

lThe probables: Goalkeepers: Devesh Chauhan (Indian Oil), Jude Menezes (Mumbai), Jagdish Poonapa (IA), K. N. Subbiah (J and K) and Robindro Singh (CRPF).

Fullbacks: Dilip Tirkey (IA), Lazarus Barla (IA), Dinesh Naik (TN), Aftab Ahmed (UP), Anurag Raghuvanshi (UP), Iqbal Singh (J and K) and Len Aiyapppa (IA).

Halfbacks: S. S. Gill (Chandigarh), Paramjit Singh (Services), Prabhat Saini (CRPF), Harmeek Singh (Punjab), Jaswinder Singh (Indian Oil), Nirmal Bengra (Bengal), Taqdir Singh (J and K), Mohammad Kalim (UP), Satish Kumar (Railways), Arjun Halappa (Karnataka), Radhakrishnan (TN), Bimal Lakra (IA), Thirumalavalan (TN), Baljit Singh Saini (PSB).

Forwards: Samir Dad (IA), Deepak Thakur (IA), Gagan Ajit Singh (Mumbai), Prabjot Singh (Indian Oil), Baljit Chandi (PSB), Brojen Singh (IA), Daljit Singh Dhillon (Punjab), Dung Dung (Hyderabad), Bipin Fernandez (Mumbai), Harbhajan Singh (BSF), Gurjeet Singh (J and K), Anoop Anthony (Karnataka), Senthil (TN), Ravinder Singh (IA), Chander Pal (Railways), Dhanraj Pillay (Mumbai) and Baljit Singh Dhillon (Punjab).

Officials: Cedric D' Souza (Chief coach), C. R. Kumar (Assistant coach), Ashish Ballal (Assistant coach), Ranjit Singh (expert) and Dr. J. P. S. Siddhu (Psychologist).

The schedule for the international tournaments:

German Test Series: February 26 (Chennai), February 28 (Hyderabad) and March 3 (Mumbai).

Prime Minister's eight-Nation Gold Cup, Dhaka: March 10 to 20.

Three or four-nation series in UAE and Qatar: March/April (dates yet to be decided).

Test matches in Australia and New Zealand: June 10 to 24.

World Cup Qualifier at Edinburgh, Scotland : July 17 to 29.

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: August 2 to 12.

Afro-Asian Games : November 3 to 11.

Champion Challenge Cup at New Delhi : December (dates yet to confirmed).

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