By Anand Philar, IANS
Chennai : Penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh’s international hockey career is all but over as the drag-flicker, citing ill-health, has pulled out of the ongoing Olympic qualifier camp in Bangalore.
His pullout comes ahead of the five-Test series in Belgium in Chennai this month and a tour of Australia and, possibly, the all-important Olympic qualifying tournament in Chile in March.
“This evening, Sandeep Singh submitted a medical certificate that recommends him to rest and recuperate. He will be available only after Jan 27,” said India Hockey Federation secretary-general K. Jothikumaran said here.
The injury effectively rules out Sandeep from the five-Test series (Jan 25-31), the tour of Australia (Feb 1-15) and possibly the Olympic qualifier (March 1-9).
Speaking to IANS, chief coach Joaquim Carlvaho said: “I have just been informed that Sandeep has been advised rest until Jan 27. So, it obviously means he will be out of the Test series and the tour of Australia. On our return, we will only have very few days before we leave for Chile.”
The coach would not comment on whether it effectively ends Sandeep’s chances of returning to Indian team.
“We have given him enough chances to prove himself, and if he is not in a position to attend training camps for whatever reason, then there is nothing we can do,” Carvalho said.
The IHF had made it mandatory for players to attend training camps to be considered for selection to the Indian team.
With the likes of V. Ramachandra Raghunath and Diwakar being groomed for this specialist role, Sandeep will have to fight his back into the team after proving his physical fitness that currently hangs fire.
Sandeep, once reckoned to be a world-class drag-flicker in the making, played only in the Champions Challenge tournament in Belgium in July last year while missing the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May and the Asia Cup in Chennai in September.
In Belgium, Sandeep converted only two penalty corners besides a penalty stroke. His performance touched the nadir against Argentina against whom India received 12 penalty corners but could not convert even one. It led to his ouster from the team for the Asia Cup.
In 2006, Sandeep Singh missed the World Cup in Germany following a freak gun shot injury barely few days before the team’s departure to Europe. He subsequently recovered but has never been quite the same player on his return.