Indian Hockey Federation president KPS Gill met former Olympic captains at his residence in the Capital on Tuesday to discuss the development of hockey among the youth. At the end of the meeting, it was decided that a hockey academy to tap young talent was the need of the hour. “Many points were discussed at the meeting but we decided on the need to set up an academy that will cater to around 40 to 50 players in the junior categories,” said Vasudevan Baskaran, former Indian captain who was till recently the coach of the Indian team. Baskaran, one of the invitees at the meeting, added that the location of the academy has not been finalised as yet but the trials to select the players have already begun. “We have identified a sixth zone, apart from the usual five. We will treat northeast as a separate zone because we felt that not much talent was coming from that area,” Baskaran said. “The IHF has appointed a group of convenors who will travel around the country to select boys for the academy. The national selectors will also be present,” he added.The Olympian, however, made it clear that the new programme would not involve players who are currently associated with different academies and that the whole procedure will be completely professional. “We have got Citigroup as sponsors for the junior programme and they have signed a deal on a long-term basis. So, I do not think money will be a problem here,” said another former captain and national selector and Ajit Pal Singh.Baskaran added that this step was keeping in mind to increase the bench strength. “Since there is a dearth of talent in the country we have to start right away to get any better in the near future. “At the new academy, we will emphasise more on technical aspects as also focussing on specialisation. For instance, our mid-field and goalkeeping are two areas of concern and we need to train specialists if we want to excel. The northeast, I feel, can help solve our problem as boys from this area are much fitter and quicker,” he said.Ajit Pal expressed similar views stating that the India lack a good bench strength and we tend to rely on a few players whereas we should have a major reservoir of talent. “After Jugraj Singh was sidelined by accident, there was a problem to fill the spot he left vacant as a penalty corner specialist. The same happened after Sandeep Singh was accidentally shot at. We need to be prepared for any eventualities and able to find replacements. “That’s why this long-term plan, and our immediate focus will be the junior World Cup. Our main target should be to get a solid team by London Olympics in 2012,” Ajit Pal added.
