Nehru hockey’s here, but where are the selectors?

But in the six days of the tournament, there’s been no selector at the stadium. One selector, Aslam Sher Khan, when contacted, admitted to The Sunday Express that he’d been deputed the task of attending the matches. ‘‘The IHF is interested in tapping new talent and I have been asked to identify the better players in the tournament’’, he said.

So why was he missing? The preliminary matches, he said, were ‘‘not of much significance’’, he’d make it from Monday. ‘‘I was out of town with the holidays, so I couldn’t be present’’, he said.

It’s another matter that the IHF knew about the tournament well in advance but had sent a letter with the directive only recently.

IHF secretary Jothikumaran, when contacted, said there were people to cover the tournament on behalf of the federation but did not reveal any names. He would talk on his arrival in Delhi, he said.

That’s not good enough for the players who’ve already given their best. ‘‘We play for our employers but, without any selectors around, we don’t feel we have any real chance of making it to the national team’’, said one player here.