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Walmiki replaces injured Thimmaiah in India's team
The Hague (Netherlands), May 27 (PTI) Indian men's hockey team has suffered yet another blow as forward Nikkin Thimmaiah has been ruled out of the upcoming Hockey World Cup, following a hamstring pull on the right side.
Doctors diagnosed a tear in hamstring muscle and have advised Thimmaiah a complete bed rest of four weeks. Yuvraj Walmiki has been named as his replacement.
Walmiki replaces injured Thimmaiah in India's team | PTI
The Hague (Netherlands), May 27 (PTI) Indian men's hockey team has suffered yet another blow as forward Nikkin Thimmaiah has been ruled out of the upcoming Hockey World Cup, following a hamstring pull on the right side.
Doctors diagnosed a tear in hamstring muscle and have advised Thimmaiah a complete bed rest of four weeks. Yuvraj Walmiki has been named as his replacement.
Walmiki replaces injured Thimmaiah in India's team | PTI
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Rabobank Hockey World Cup: India lose Ramandeep Singh to injury
India forward Ramandeep Singh has been ruled out of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup after sustaining an injury during a pre-tournament warm-up.
Singh was taken to hospital after he suffered a serious blow to his head during India’s friendly against Argentina last week.
Scans revealed that the 21-year-old has sustained multiple fractures to his right eye socket and cheekbone, with Hockey India confirming the attacker will be undergoing surgery.
India, who lifted the Hockey World Cup in 1975, have endured a barren spell over the last nine tournaments - a fifth place finish in Australia their best in recent years – and will be eager to recapture their previous form.
England prepared
The loss of Singh will come as a blow for India head coach Terry Walsh, who has called up Kallinga Lancers forward Lalit Upadhyay as a replacement.
Upadhyay, who is coached by Walsh at the Lancers in the Hockey India League, toured Europe with India last month and insists he is ready to give his all at the World Cup.
"Ramandeep's injury is a sad incident and a big blow for the team,” he told The Times of India. “I will give my best to live up to the expectations of the coaches and selectors.
"I would like to thank the selectors and Hockey India for imposing their faith in me and giving me this opportunity to represent the country in the World Cup.
“This is a dream come true for any player across the world and I will give my 100 per cent.”
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There will be no World Cup miracle for Indian hockey: Michael Nobbs
In a hard-hitting interview with IBNLive, Indian men's hockey team's former chief coach Michael Nobbs has said that India needs to come out its "live-in-the-past" attitude and start development programmes if they want to match the top teams in the world.
India, led by Sardar Singh, has already touched base at The Hague, Netherlands, to participate in the FIH World Cup under chief coach Terry Walsh who was replaced after Nobbs left his job citing medical reasons. And the former coach said Walsh is lucky to choose the squad from a wider pool of players.
However, he concurred with his fellow Aussie that a top-seven finish is a fairly reasonable target the federation has set for itself.
It's been some time you left the Indian team's coaching job. Do you still regularly keep a tab on how Indian hockey is shaping up under Terry Walsh?
Yes, I have been interested as I still wish for India to do well. India is trying so hard to reclaim its former glory and I, for one, certainly hope they do.
Have you spotted any difference (good or bad) in the team or development of Indian hockey?
Well, it's been hard to really gauge any improvement as World League Round 4 produced one win against Germany which fielded a second-rate team and India lost all the other games. Then there was a tour of Europe where India won only one game against a second division club and lost twice to a Netherlands development team. The team has then spent considerable time in camps, so it's a hard call to say if they have improved at all.
The squad for the World Cup has been chosen. There's no Danish Mujtaba and no Yuvraj Walmiki, but Gurbaj Singh is back after two years, plus rookie midfielder Jasjit Singh will be making his India debut. Your thoughts.
Terry has the luxury of picking all the players that were previously out due to World Series Hockey suspensions. So the team he has picked looks a strong side on paper. Danish has struggled to regain form after his injury and Yuvraj has played well in games that I have seen but perhaps the players added have produced some better results.
Do you think there was place for Sandeep Singh in the squad, especially after his good performance in the HIL?
Tough call as he has given great service to India over a long and distinguished career and did play very well in the HIL but that competition is a long way off the standard of a World Hockey Cup.
Roelant Oltmans, Walsh and Mr. Narinder Batra have repeatedly said we are targeting top 7 at the World Cup. Is stressing on that a realistic approach or does that lower the morale of a team whose ultimate goal is obviously to win the Cup even if that's a bridge too far?
I think they are reasonable targets as anything higher would be tough. The World League Round 4 had the top 8 teams in the world, and India achieved one win against depleted Germany. They are playing the same teams again, and looking at the teams in the competition, they are stronger again than that competition. So India will need some luck and drop in form from the other teams to do much better than 7th.
What in your opinion should be the pep talk before the team's departure?
Do you best, you are our finest players. You have a good coach. Listen and remember you are playing for India, not yourselves.
India play Belgium first, then Australia, England, Spain and Malaysia. Three wins possible at least?
Very difficult. I can't see India beating Australia or Belgium. England have had some good results lately and will also be very difficult. Spain is also tough but are an older team now and could be a possible win. India should dispose of Malaysia quite easily. A drop in form by either Spain or England will give us a chance. Both pools are very tough.
Do you see a miracle happening for India in The Hague?
Unfortunately for India the top teams in the world neither need a miracle or want one. They have very good domestic programmes that have produced good results over a very long period. India must start to develop these programmes and get rid of the rhetoric and live-in-the-past attitude. India will need a miracle to win the tournament and it's never going to happen. I will be out there cheering for India and really hope they do well, but I have had to live with everyone else with the disappointment and underachievement for far too long
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India beat South Africa 4-1 in final practice game ahead of hockey World Cup
A spirited India defeated South Africa 4-1 in their final practice game to round off their warm-up campaign ahead of the hockey World Cup on a positive note.
India had earlier lost 1-2 to Argentina in the first practice game.
Hit hard by injuries to two key strikers -- Ramandeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah, the Indians played the game against South Africa with a maturity head and sense of purpose.
India's three goals came from penalty corner conversion by Rupinderpal Singh (2) and V R Raghunath, while captain Sardar Singh also contributed to the scoreline with a field goal.
India dominated proceedings for most part of the match and took the lead at the closing stages of the first half through a penalty corner conversion by Rupinder.
Rupinder registered his name in the scoresheet again when he successfully converted another penalty corner in the second half to double India's lead.
The South Africans did manage to pull one back from a set piece but the Indian defence stood tall thereafter to thwart any danger to their citadel.
Skipper Sardar made the scoreline 3-1 in favour of India with a field strike before Raghunath completed the formalities with a penalty corner conversion.
Speaking on India's performance against South Africa, India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans, said: "The first half of the match turned out to be a little slower than expected, but the second half of the game saw a really good performance by the team, where defence also gave an excellent response.
"We are happy to see both Lalit Upadhyay and Yuvraj Walmiki (Ramandeep and Nikkin's replacements) living up to the expectations from their very first match. The team has been preparing for a long time now and it's time for the boys to deliver their best. I am confident that the boys will perform well in this tournament."
India captain Sardar Singh too was satisfied with the outcome of the match.
"It was the second practice game and I am glad the team is showing good results. The good part is that we all understand the wavelength and carry on with the game with the same mindset," he said.
"This win against South Africa will further help in boosting the confidence of every player and especially Lalit Upadhyay and Yuvraj Walmiki as it was their first game. We are ready to take up more challenges and deliver even better results in the tournament," Sardar added.
India will open their World Cup campaign against Belgium in a tough Group A on Saturday.
