Hockey selectors get used to a different kind of role

Mehta said being a selector itself was a great experience. “I am the youngest in the selection committee and selecting the men’s team was my first brush with hockey from the other side. I have always been a player before — and the only thing I was concerned about was to make sure that I didn’t make any mistake,” she said.

It is for the first time in Indian hockey that a composite selection committee has been formed for both men’s and women’s teams. Hockey India had announced the new selection committee a fortnight ago to replace the ad-hoc committee.

It is also a first for both Mehta and Yadav. “As an international umpire,we get to interact with both men’s and women’s officials from around the world,and that came in handy. Also,it was far easier selecting the women’s team because we know the players and what exactly is needed at the world level. With the men’s team,we felt the standards were far higher than the women,” Yadav said.

“As a player,we used to always think of doing our best on field. For a long time now,every time any Indian team was selected,there were talks of some deserving player or the other missing out. Now I am aware of what a player feels when he or she is selected or dropped,and we want to make sure no one feels neglected,” said Mehta.

Both feel it was a good move to have a composite selection committee. The five-member panel,besides the three government observers,also selected the women’s squad for the under-18 Asia Cup beginning on Saturday in Bangkok. While there has been a lot of criticism for the way Hockey India is going about the process of having a unified body for men’s and women’s hockey,the decision to have a single selection committee has been welcomed. Mehta and Yadav are determined to ensure it works.