Date:30/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/30/stories/2007033003082200.htm

Sport - Hockey

Doubts remain over Sandeep's fitness

Chennai: With doubts persisting over the fitness of drag flicker and full-back, Sandeep Singh, the Indian Hockey Federation will tread cautiously before fielding him in an international competition.

Although speculation is rife that Sandeep may figure in the Azlan Shah Cup next month — he is recovering and training in the Netherlands now — there is an element of doubt whether he will be ready by then to face the rigours of high voltage competition.

As a precautionary move, the IHF has asked two drag flickers — Bikramjit Singh and Didar Singh — to join the camp starting at Bangalore on April 2. While the former is a junior star who is emerging as a dependable flicker, Didar is a senior with a string of international appearances.

Also joining the camp will be striker Rajpal Singh, who was surprisingly missing from the list of probables. This move is in response to the assessment in some quarters that the list of trainees for the frontline contained very few seasoned players. — Hockey Correspondent