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| Mandeep hasn't scored for India since World Cup 2014 |
Indian hockey team led by Sardar Singh have reached New Zealand
for a six match series in order to prepare for Hockey World League finals and
Rio Olympics. Coach Roelant Oltmans has taken four penalty corner experts in
the squad while Manpreet Singh and Dharamvir Singh make their comeback after
injury. Among the 21 players selected for the tour, there are players who have
a point or one to prove. Here is a list of five players who have a point to
prove on New Zealand tour:
Manpreet Singh: Sardar Singh’s successor Manpreet Singh has
had a poor 2015 as compared to his form in 2014. Along with poor form, Manpreet
Singh was forced to miss the Europan tour due to shin injury. After his
recovery, Manpreet Singh has been brought back in the side and lot is expected
from him since his return. With his form eluding him, Manpreet is under
pressure to perform and new coach Roelant Oltmans just like Paul Van Ass has no
regards to big names when it comes to team selection. Oltmans believes that
team selection for the Hockey World League and Olympics should only be based on
player’s performance and not on the name at the back of the shirt. New Zealand tour
offers Manpreet a great chance of re-discovering his form and cements his place
in the squad as deputy of Sardar Singh. A good performance against world no 7
will give his confidence a huge boost. Manpreet Singh is a key player for
Indian team and his loss of form is concern to Indian team management who want
to take a strong side for upcoming FIH tournaments. A fit and confident Manpreet
Singh will be a great addition to Indian team.
Dharamvir Singh: With Gurbaj Singh banned for nine months
and Olympics participation a huge doubt, the responsibility role solely lays on
the shoulder of Dharamvir Singh. Dharamvir Singh was part of great trio of
Gurbaj- Dharamvir-SV Sunil and not with Gurbaj banned; Dharamvir alone will
have to provide support to SV Sunil in the attack. Satbir Singh is another
player who will be asked to play in place of Gurbaj Singh but it will be Dharamvir
who be under pressure to perform. In the European tour, Roelant Oltmans tried
Rupinder and Jasjit in Gurbaj Singh’s place but did not give desired results so
it’s just Dharamvir who specialises in the role of right half for India.
Nikkin Thimmaiah: Nikkin Thimmaiah has nothing short of a
revelation for India. After the likes of Deepak Thakur, India have finally
found a goal poacher who is not afraid to take on opposition defenders, but the
only thing going against him is the amount of competition for his spot. Despite
his good performances for Indian team, Nikkin found himself out of European
tour due to availability of other experienced players. With this New Zealand
tour, Nikkin has got a great opportunity to test his mettle against some of the
best defenders in the world. Agreed, New Zealand is no Netherlands, Germany or
Australia but they have given top teams of the world a serious headache when
playing against them. If Nikkin is able to cause problems to New Zealand, he
will surely seal spot for the Olympics.
Mandeep Singh: Another player who has been suffering from
loss of form is striker Mandeep Singh who has not fared well for Indian in
recent times due to poor form and injury related issues. Mandeep who was
instrumental in helping Ranchi Rhinos in winning inaugural Hockey India League
where he was also the top goal scorer in the tournament. In the recent European
tour where India faced France and Spain, Mandeep did not score a single goal
for India. His form has been so poor that he last scored for India on May 31
2014 in the Hockey World Cup opening match against Belgium despite selected
numerous times to play for India. New Zealand tour provides Mandeep Singh another
opportunity to get his goal scoring form back after string of poor performances
for India. If he is unable to do well in the European team, he can surely kiss
his Olympics dream good bye for now.
Jasjit Singh Kular: Arguably the best Indian player of
recent Hockey World League, Jasjit Singh Kular faces a tough competition as
both India’s favourable penalty corner experts Raghunath and Rupinder are back
in the side after injury. Jasjit Singh scored two goals through penalty corners
in the Hockey World League but it was his defensive prowess that caught the eye
of fans and experts. Despite giving top notch performance in the Hockey World League,
the chances of Jasjit getting selected in Hockey World League/Rio Olympics is
less due to return of Rupinder Pal Singh and VR Raghunath. So, this New Zealand
tour provides Jasjit Kular a chance to impress coach Roelant Oltmans and steal
a place for India’s future tournaments.
Do you think there are any other players who have point to
prove in the New Zealand tour? Let us know in the comments section below.
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