CHANDIGARH, June 12: The newly appointed junior hockey selector Gurdish Pal Singh would stress on `fair selection at the right age.' In an informal chat here today, the former Indian captain said,``The boys in the age group of 18-21 never get tired. They can slog on for hours on the field. The need is to properly channelise their energy.''``After proper and scientific selection, the boy selected at the age of 18 can play for three successive years in the junior section. From there he can graduate to the senior category,'' explained Gurdish Pal who captained India in 1977 against Pakistan in a Test series.Gurdish Pal is working as Superintendent in Customs and Central Excise at Chandigarh. He further said that,``the players must be given incentives in cash or kind to keep their interests alive in this fascinating game which, unfortunately, is slowly on the decline.'He advocated organisation of more tournaments on the lines of the Nehru Hockey in Delhi where teams from all corners of the country participate. These types of tournaments should form the basis of selection of the different teams. Boys from schools and colleges get proper exposure in the Nehru hockey meets for junior and seniors.He appreciated the Punjab Sports Department's recent move to raise boys and girls under-21 hockey teams. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already okayed department's plan to invite a foreign coach, if needed.Gurdish Pal, who was selected for the 1978 World Cup, said, ``Hockey has dramatically changed. From grass to artificial turf, you have to be 100 per cent fit. With off-side rule abolished, it is now survival for the fittest. However, it does not mean that the skill of a player does not count. But it is a team game.''Gurdish Pal represented Combined Universities in the Nationals from 1975 to 1979 and Delhi from 1981 to 1987. He was selected for Panjab University in 1972 and captained the victorious PU in the All-India Inter-University Hockey Championship in 1975. The former formidable Indian fullback Gurdish Pal Singh was also a member of the Indian University team which toured Europe in 1975.Besides playing in a number of international tournaments in India and abroad, he was a standby for the 1984 Olympic Games. He was also a member of the Punjab Olympians XI which won Gold Cup in 1984 and 1990 in California.The Customs and Central Excise Officer is in-charge of the All India Customs and Central Excise hockey team which is an associated member of the Indian Hockey Federation.Thanking the IHF president KPS Gill for giving him a chance to serve the Indian hockey as a junior selector, Gurdish Pal Singh promised to fulfil the faith the federation has reposed in him.
