Basil
Contributor
- Joined
- 6 Oct 2013
- Messages
- 4,888
- Reaction score
- 3,013
John Abharam buys stake in Delhi Waveriders and Cedric D'Souza named new coach
New Delhi: Former national hockey coach Cedric D'Souza (second from right in pic) has been roped in by Delhi Waveriders as their new coach for the second edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) scheduled to begin next month.
Introducing the new coach, Ajit Pal Singh, former captain of the Indian hockey team and chief advisor, Delhi Waveriders said, "Cedric has coaching experience in domestic as well as international arena, and working experience with Indian as well as global players.
"His passion for fitness, technique and mental toughness makes him one of the most sought after coaches in India hockey. With Cedric in our ranks, Delhi Waveriders will be the team to beat this season."
The Delhi franchise also announced a new face of the franchise, actor and producer, John Abraham, who will also be co-owner of the team.
Speaking on the occasion, Abraham said, "This is a great opportunity for me to be associated with hockey, our national sport. Delhi Waveriders has an excellent team led by Sardar Singh, I am sure this team will do well and be the super team of the Hockey India League in 2014.
"My vision is to see Hockey in the forefront of all sports played in India once gain and soon this vision is going to be a reality."
The Hockey India League is scheduled to be held from January 25 to February 15 with six teams competing against each otheR.
The actor was supposed to buy a 13 per cent stake in the team but the actor went ahead and bought the team on a 50-50 basis with the Wave Group.
The actor-producer, who is in Dubai, is shooting for the upcoming Welcome Back as well. “Hockey is very special to me as it’s our national sport. It’s a nice place to be in.
We have really excelled in hockey,” before adding about his stake in the team, “That is a confidential and personal matter. I am the co-owner of the team now and this makes the connection more special. The prospect of encouraging the sport excited me.”
So does he think that hockey is still treated as an underdog sport and needs all the encouragement? “To be honest, hockey has taken off. It’s doing fairly well and I have seen kids who go to watch a hockey match. It’s an exciting sport,” says the ardent Liverpool fan.
