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This is an archive article published on July 25, 1997

Hockey Centre of Excellence cleared

NEW DELHI, July 24: The Indian hockey scene has something to look forward to with the government today clearing the proposal to have a Nati...

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NEW DELHI, July 24: The Indian hockey scene has something to look forward to with the government today clearing the proposal to have a National Centre of Excellence for Hockey. Preparations are already afoot to launch the Centre in Bangalore with much fanfare during the National Sports Week, August 29-September 4, coinciding with the birth anniversary of legendary hockey star Dhyan Chand.

The centre, to be situated at the SAI Southern Centre, Bangalore, is the result of several heads from the Department of Youth Affairs, Sports Authority of India and Indian Hockey Federation working together to set the hockey scene right.

About 50 boys in the age group of 16 to 19 and another elite group of boys between 19 and 21, will be picked from around the country and inducted into the programme, where all facilities regarding their boarding, lodging and other aspects will be taken care of. The process, the government expects, will be complete in the next couple of years so that it has a good pool of players to select the national side for the Sydney Olympics.

A three-member committee, comprising Niranjan Reddy, an executive with the IHF, government nominee Zafar Iqbal and Olympian Charles Cornelius, have already identified 25 boys from the recent junior nationals and the rest will be taken in from the various institutions and hockey academies.

A letter has already gone to institutions and academies.

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