Not the best of preparation

Satinder Singh, of Central Reserve Police Force and Dalip Singh of Army Sports College, Pune, are attached with the camp as coach and physical trainer, respectively.

Though the officials attached to the camp sound optimistic about the players fitness, a visit to the camp proved the other way round. Only nine out of 11 campers, were actually practising.

The local lad, Sukhbir Singh Garewal, was on the benches. “He is nursing a minor injury. So he needs rest,” said a player. Baljit Singh Dhillon was another, who was looking off colour. “He has strained his thigh muscle,” disclosed the physical trainer.

How seriously the players took the camp can be gauged by the fact that only two players reported at the venue on April 15, the day the camp began.

“We never got information on time,” said one of the campers.

According to one of the IHF official, there was some communication gap which led to the confusion.

Coming to the camp, the players who are training for more than five hours a day in two sessions, are not getting adequate diet. The diet chart has been made, not by an expert but an official of the IHF. “The diet money we our getting from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is not sufficient. It is Rs. 104 per player everyday,” said an IHF official.

The emphasis in the camp is to improve the general physical condition of the players. “They are doing strength, speed and endurance training,” said the physical trainer.

Probables: Ramandeep Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Rajinder Singh, Sukhbir SIngh Garewal, Harbajhan Singh, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Sham Suzzoha, John Minz, Julian Topno, Iqbal Singh and Ajit Pal Singh.