WSH hits a new roadblock

Hockey is high on popularity charts following India’s qualification for the London Olympics and the organisers of the World Series Hockey — Indian Hockey Federation and Nimbus — would have hoped to make most of it. That, however, is not the case.

The tournament has been mired in controversy ever since it was first announced in December 2010. As things stand now, the ‘rebel’ league will kick off in Chandigarh on Wednesday sans the Indian internationals. The national team members, who have been used as pawns in this ultimate battle for power between Hockey India and the IHF have been summoned for the preparatory camp for the Olympics by the former. To add to the organisers’ woes, the Army and Railways too have not released their players for the event. The organisers are believed to be making a last-ditch effort to get those players on board. “We won’t let these things have an impact on the league,” IHF president RK Shetty said.

However, it’s hard to imagine how these pull-outs won’t impact the league in its inaugural season, which has already been postponed once. The tournament has been in news more because of the infighting between the two warring bodies rather than the sport itself. The absence of Indian players takes the sheen away from the competition.

However, former India coach Harendra Singh, who will be managing the Chandigarh Comets, felt it was too early to judge the impact. “We have some really good international players taking part. There are world-renowned coaches such as Roelant Oltmans, Andrew Meredith and Jose Brasa managing the teams. And more than anything else, it will give the unknown Indian players a chance to make a name for themselves,” Harendra said.

The tournament has put in place a strong technical and coaching staff. In Dennis Meredith, they have one of the most experienced tournament directors. Meredith has been the tournament chief for various FIH events and the hockey tournament in the Olympics for more than a decade.

Oltmans, who has had tremendous success with the Dutch team, was tipped to be India’s hockey coach before HI named Michael Nobbs as Brasa’s successor.

Top Indian names including V Bhaskaran, Jude Felix and Rajinder Singh have been roped in. Brent Livermore, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi will be main international attractions while veterans Dhanraj Pillay and Viren Rasquinha, too, will make a comeback.