No replacement for Mukesh

Baskaran said the key to India8217;s success was how well the players were able to adapt to the 8220;destructive hockey8221; strategy and succeed with penalty corners with many variations that were worked out at the 10-day camp that ended at the SAI, Bangalore yesterday.

Baskaran said the rivals, Champions Trophy winners Australia and South Korea, were 8220;readymade sides8221; geared up for the Olympics. Canada too were also a tough opponent, to whom India lost in the 1998 Utrecht World Cup.Baskaran admitted penalty corner routines needed to be ironed out, but said 8220;the boys are fully focussed and they have beenwell-briefed about what they are expected to do.

The current build-up process for the Olympics will be over by next January-February and we will be playing in a four-nation event in Spain by January end,8221; he said.

Destructive hockey, he said, was aimed at scuttling the moves of rivals beyond the 25-yard line and that it was used as a successful strategy by top teams these days. Asked about penalty corner conversions, he said there were no specialists coming in from the junior ranks. 8220;Both Pakistan8217;s Sohail Abbas and Brahm Lomans of The Netherlands have been trained since they were juniors,8221; he said.

The conversion rate by the junior squad that toured Europe and finished runners-up in the eight-nation tournament in Poland was a shocking one out of 99.

Oil and Natural Gas Commission is sponsoring the Indian team.Team: Goalkeepers: Edward Aloysius, Jude Menezes; Defenders: Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla, Anurag Raghuvanshi, Dinesh Nayak; Halfbacks: Baljit Singh Saini, Md Riaz capt, Thirumalvalavan,Sukhbir Singh Gill, Deepak Thakur, Daljit Singh Dhillon, Anwar Khan; Forwards: Kamal Horo, Gagan Ajit Singh, Sameer Dad, Baljit Singh Chandi; Coaches: Vasudevan Baskaran and Ramesh Parameswaran; Physio: Sampath Kumar; Manager: JN Tyagi.

junior probables: IHF shortlisted 71 probables for a Junior National coaching camp to be held in Bangalore from September 16-October 8 and Pune September 15-October 1.

Probables Under-18: Goalkeepers: Kamaldeep Singh A-I, Irshad Mohammed Kerala, Sheelander Singh Dli, Baljeet Singh Chd; Fullbacks: Robin Okram, Sunil Singh, Manoj Kujur Mumbai, Williamjeet Singh Ben, Tarcius Kullu, John Jo Jo Ori, Bikramjit Singh Har, Wilson Dung Dung A-I; Right-half: Gurmeet Singh Ben, Nitin Kumar UP, Kulwinder Singh Har; Centre-half: Natraj TN, Jugraj Pun, Sosan Topno Ser, Sandeep Kumar Har, Harmahinder Singh PSB; Left-half: Conroy Remedios Mumbai, Parmeet Singh Pun, Jaswinder Singh Chd, Gurpreet Singh Pun. Outside-right: Nawaz N TN,Lakhwinder Singh PSB, Dawid Noble, Sanjeet Andhra, Rawinder Singh Pun; Inside-right: Sanjeev Singh A-I, Junas Bara Sail, Pradhjeet Singh PSB, Hamza Moztaba UP; Inside-left: Vijay Malwyn, Munda Biku Kar, Severan Barla Ori, Gopi Nath TN, Dominic Pun; Outide-left: Roshan Tete A-I, Rajpal Singh Chd, Sarvjeet Singh Pun, Kamlesh Kumar Singh Guj; Centre forward: Vinay Gathe A-I, Ranjeet Minz Ori, Pawitrajeet Singh Pun, Satish Kumar Pon, Arun Rawat Centre of Excellence.

Coaches: Clarence Lobo Mumbai, Ajay Bansal A-I.Under-21: Goalkeepers: David Rlys, Bharat Chetri Kar, G Natarajan TN, Hirojit Singh Manipur; Full-backs: Len Ayappa Kar, Kanwalpreet Singh, Bikramjit Singh both PSB, Chandrasekar Zhalko, Amrit Kiro both Centre of Excellence, Carlyle D8217;Mello Mum; Half-backs: Paramjit Singh Ser, Radhakrishnan TN, Arjun Halappa, Bimal Lakra both Kar, Shamsuz Zoha UP, Sonu Del, Vikram Pillay Pune, Praboth Tirkey Ori, Bipin Fernandez Kar, PrakashToppo Ben; Forwards: Gurjant Singh Centre of Excellence, Viren Rasquinha Mum, Inderjit Singh Chd, Ajitpal Singh Pun, Amarjeet Pratap UP.

Coaches: C R Kumar, Harendra Singh and Saju Joseph. India B lose: The India B hockey team lost to Egypt 3-4 on penalties in the final of a four-nation tournament in Nairobi, but won a Test series against Zimbabwe and swamped Uganda in two matches during their tour of Africa. The team returned home late last night.