Miles away from centre of scandal, juniors get ready for Azlan Shah

In the midst of all the furore caused by the sting operation against Indian Hockey Federation secretary K Jothikumaran...

In the midst of all the furore caused by the sting operation against Indian Hockey Federation secretary K Jothikumaran, the selection trials for the tournament under scanner — the Sultan Azlan Shah event in Malaysia next month — were held quietly, away from the media gaze that is firmly riveted on the federation for the moment.

The junior India squad has been training under chief coach AK Bansal at the Sports Authority of India’s regional centre at Rai near Delhi for the past fortnight, and the team for the Malaysia event will be selected from its ranks. In fact, even before the Indian team left for the ongoing four-nation tour in Australia, it had been decided to select a mainly junior squad for Azlan Shah, in an attempt to groom youngsters for the 2010 World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

Blissfully unaware

And with no news channels aired at the centre, the juniors are blissfully unaware of all the commotion.

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In fact, the proceedings at the camp make an interesting read by themselves. At Tuesday’s trials, the camp saw the presence of former striker Gagan Ajit Singh, there as a selector. “I was just asked to come and see the boys here. I can’t say I am a proper, full-time selector as of now,” he told The Indian Express.

Gagan Ajit, who was part of the national squad till last year and was considered amongst the best Indian forwards in recent times, added that it was not possible to judge and select a team in an hour. “As an experienced player who has played modern hockey, I was asked to give my suggestions. But selection is not a hurried job,” he admitted.

Gagan, however, refused to comment on the selection scandal, saying only that while they used to be surprised at players coming in for one tournament and then disappearing, he didn’t want to say anything on the latest episode.

Meanwhile, drag-flicker Sandeep Singh has been at the camp here. Sandeep, who opted out of the Bangalore camp citing injury, is likely to be on the plane to Malaysia in May.

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But what is most interesting is the presence of the player whose name was used during the sting operation.

The said player, who has been part of the junior squad for quite some time now and was even part of the team that won silver in an eight-nation event in Malaysia recently, is considered extremely talented by the coach and is set to figure in the list for Azlan Shah. For reasons not of his own making, he would certainly be under scrutiny.