Apprentice sounds the board

After playing second fiddle for years,drag-flicker Gurpreet seizes opportunity

Local trains chugging along and picking in speed and decibel from the Churchgate Terminus will remain the charming backdrop of Mumbai Marines home turf 8211; the made-over MHA stadium for the next month and more of World Series Hockey. On Thursday,as hockey drowned out the familiar stop-start drone of the train engines on Day 1 of the action here,Pune Strykers Gurpreet Singh did what a few trains condemned to dawdle,do occasionally against those labelled the speedier ones.

Gurpreets career has been akin to a Slow Trains daily grind 8211; stop-start,sluggish and even stagnant. But against their west-side rivals Mumbai,the little-known drag flicker seemed to revel in shifting tracks 8211; hitting fast gears 8211; and emerged the hero for one of the youngest teams in WSH,with 4 penalty corner conversions,that made Punes 7-5 win seem positively clinical.

Gurpreet grew up alongside Team Indias praised centre half Sardar Singh in Haryanas Sirsa district,and had watched with reluctant appreciation,state-mate Sandeep Singhs rise to fame as an ace drag-flicker hailing from neighbouring Shahabad.

As a second or often third-choice penalty corner specialist with the Namdharis,Gurpreet shared and learnt valuable lessons at first the academy and then the senior teams alongside the two India stars.

Against Mumbai,Gurpreet and his unfancied team with the fewest stars even amongst Indias second-or-third rung earned themselves some opportunities,and the 26-year-old went past Adrian DSouza four times 8211; including thrice in the third and four quarters to fetch them an upset win against the Mumbai unit that led 4-3 at the halfway mark.

Ive shared times at the academy and in local matches with Sardar and played against Sandeep too. But I remained just a team-mate and batch-mate, smiles the dogged Sardar,who laid bare the left-corner of DSouzas citadel,exploiting the goal-keepers propensity to dive right.

In fact,Gurpreet wasnt the first-choice for the Pune either. Former India drag flicker Diwakar Ram injured himself,and on his arrival at Punes camp,the BPCL player whos spent a lot of time in obscurity was told that hed be shouldering the immense burden.

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Its a good platform to be noticed. Some players take time to be noticed,but he proves that we have plenty of drag flicking talent waiting to be tapped in the country, said his Pune coach Gundeep Singh,who added that the expertise was gaining in popularity with youngsters wanting to emulate the likes of Sandeep Singh.

While Gurpreet has learnt much from his senior Jugraj Singh,he considered former drag flick expert Baljit Singh Dhillon as his idol 8211; more for his efforts to learn the skill and breathe its nuances,than the success rate he achieved. I was left behind,and I know itd have been great for the tournament if India starts were here. But I also want to prove that Im good enough and not lacking in anything, says the man,whos adamant to shift gears.

Prabhjot shines for Punjab

Jalandhar: Sher-E-Punjab launched their WSH campaign with a convincing 5-2 win over Chennai Cheetahs. However,the scoreline does not reflect the close tussle which took place on the field at the Surjeet Singh Hockey Stadium. For Sher-E-Punjab,the scorers were Mandeep Antil 7th minute,Harpreet Nagra 34th minute,Prabhjot Singh 49th and 70th minutes and Gagan Ajit Singh 57th minute while Pakistani star Imran Warsi struck a brace for the Cheetahs.