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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, AUG 19: A star-studded, 16-member Maharashtra team, powered by Dhanraj Pillay, will go on a hockey tour of Netherlands and Germany from September 7-22.
Besides Pillay, the 41 probables for the tour include two other Bangkok Asian Games gold medal winning members — Sandeep Somesh and Sabu Varkey. Also among the shortlisted are several senior and junior internationals, including MK Prakash, Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajesh Chauhan, Gavin Ferreira, Rahul Singh and Jude Menezes. The squad will be accompanied by two coaches, former international goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi and former Mumbai player Mukul Pandey.
The team will play matches with Dutch first division teams comprising internationals on September 8 and 9 at Arnhem and Utrecht. They will then travel to Germany to play against the country’s league champion club Red and White in Cologne and Bad Kraeuznach at Bad Kraeuznacht, 70 kms from Cologne.
The third phase of the tour would be the $10,000 prize money Hague Hockeydays to be held from September15-20.
The invitation for the tour, budgeted to cost Rs 20 lakh, had been routed through the Mumbai-based Apeksha Cultural Organisation and Sports Association (ACOSA). The tour has been made possible by the assistance of the state government and the Maharashtra Olympic Association.
ACOSA chief Deepak Khanolkar said arrangements have been made to have former Netherlands skipper Tom Van’t Hek as the doctor for the Maharashtra team and also a physio — Monique Bastiannse, a national-level hockey player herself.
The team’s 13-session preparatory camp gets under way at the Bombay Hockey Association’s Mahindra Stadium from Friday while the fitness sessions will be held at Priyadarshini Park. The probables will play eight friendly matches before the camp concludes on September 4. The final 16 will be picked by a three-member selection committee comprising skipper Dhanraj Pillay and the two coaches, Negi and Pandey.
Pillay said the tour was an ideal platform for youngsters in the state side to gain foreignexposure and enhance their claims to play for the country.
THE PROBABLES
Dhanraj Pillay (captain — Mahindras), Sandeep Somesh, Sabu Varkey, Jude Menezes, MK Prakash, Ajay Kumar, Amar Ayyamma (all BPCL), Anil Aldrin, Rajesh Chauhan, Gagan Ajit Singh, Gavin Ferreira, Cornelius D’Costa, Devinder Kumar, Deepak Thakkur, Sunil Periera, Kishore Kumar (all Air-India), Vijay Alphonso, Rahul Singh, Errol D’Cruz, Adolf Colaco, Suresh Pereira, Romeo Albuquerque (all Customs), AP Girish, S Krishnamurthy, Vikram Pillay, Viren Rasquinha, Conroy Remedios, Brian D’Souza, Enrico Fernandes, Manoj Lokhande, Amjad Khan (all Tatas), Shane D’Costa, Jahangir Shaikh, Abhijit Shirsat (MPT), Yogesh More, Solomon Alexander (both RCF), Callistus D’Souza, IS Negi, Shanta Kumar, Arun Gurung (all Western Railway) and R Lakra (Navy).
