Former India hockey player Harbinder Singh, who represented India in multiple Olympic Games, on Wednesday refuted claims that former national team coach Terry Walsh’s controversial exit will hurt the team in the long run. “There will be no major difference in the team due to absence of Terry Walsh; players and coaches come and go,” Harbinder said on the sidelines of the launch of Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015,
“There is no doubt that during his tenure we won at Asian games and we should give him full credit, but we should not forget that Indian team has won at Asian games before and in the Olympics. Whatever he taught, players have learned it all and the future coach should take the team where it belongs,” he added.
According to Harbinder, 2014 was a successful year for Indian Hockey. “Indian junior team won bronze medal in junior and the senior team won gold in Asian games, which we last won in 1998 and in 1966 before that. The men’s hockey team qualified for the Olympics. I’m very happy and excited about that. Beside this the men’s senior team came fourth in Champions Trophy and I personally believe that hockey as a sport is coming on the right tracks and in the coming years I hope we perform even better,” he said.
Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015
Hockey Citizen Group on Wednesday announced the launch of the inaugural Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015 to promote hockey at the grass-root levels. The maiden edition of the tournament will feature 24 schools from across Delhi and NCR, which will include both government and private schools. This is also the first time in Delhi that an Under-14 hockey tournament will have prize money associated with it.
The event will be played in ‘Under – 17’ and ‘Under – 14’ categories. The tournament starts on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at the Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi. Final will be played on 21st January.