News for 21 December 2016
All the news for Wednesday 21 December 2016
A gold worth its wait
Jaspreet Sahni
LUCKNOW: It took 15 years coming, but when it did, the Junior Hockey World Cup gold turned a satisfying year for Indian hockey into a memorable one. Never before in the history of hockey had India won a Champions Trophy silver and a Junior World Cup in the same year. It's no mean feat in a sport that has often relied on its 20th century chronicles to win the support of people.
The story behind this golden success, in particular, must act as a catalyst and not be allowed to become another flash in the pan. Behind this script are multiple actors and factors that proved to be the pivots on which India turned it around to reclaim the throne in the City of Nawabs. When you come to know that captain Harjeet Singh's father, who is a truck driver by profession, was away on duty in Maharashtra while his son lifted the trophy, the many unknown facets of this team come to the fore.
Harendra's masterplan
Harendra Singh was given the charge of India juniors -a pool of 42 players -in 2014. It was then that he drafted his Mission 2016. The seriousness of Harendra's approach towards pruning this team to 18 could be seen in the minutest of details he went into - like creating a Whatsapp group titled 'Mission 2016', drafting a team slogan, handing out a print to every player and listing 31 words starting with letter 'C' to counter any situation on or off the pitch. The world 'champion' was added to the list on Sunday to make it 32. The Boys in Blue kept crossing milestones - 2015 Junior Asia Cup and the four-nations trophy in Valencia in 2016 -before accomplishing final mission.
Surjit Hockey Academy
The role of Surjit Hockey Academy in India's WC success is huge, as 10 of the 18 players are from the famous hockey nursery in Jalandhar. Harjeet, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Simranpreet Singh, Krishan Pathak, Hardik Singh, Gurinder Singh, Vikramjeet Singh and Parvinder Singh are all products of the academy. Include Gurjant Singh, who shifted from Surjit Academy to the Punjab Institute of Sports, and you have an entire team coming from a single academy .In fact, most of the boys in the above list have been together since schooldays, having played together for more than 10 years, including now for the national team. That explains the coordination of this team.
Seniors in the squad
Striker Mandeep (with over 50 caps), playmaker Harjeet and dragflicker Harmanpreet (part of Rio Olympics team) already have the senior-team experience. The trio had said before the start of the WC that the experience of having played with the senior team would help them "prepare for the big matches". It did make a difference as they led from the front in the knockouts.
Sreejesh in the dugout
Some observers were surprised to see senior India captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the junior dugout. Some even called it a strategic move by the star goalkeeper to angle for a future job with Hockey India. In fact, it was a selfless move by a player recovering from injury, who wanted to make the most of his time off. Sreejesh's presence was felt when he guided Vikas Dahiya during the shootout against Australia in semifinal.
The Times of India
The ‘Green revolution’ behind India’s success in Hockey Junior World Cup
Saurabh Duggal
India beat Belgium in the final to win their second Hockey Junior World Cup after 15 years. (Hockey India)
On December 18, the India colts scripted history by lifting the Hockey Junior World Cup after a gap of 15 years. More than half of the squad --- 10 out of 18 --- are from Punjab. The genesis of the victory is courtesy of a ‘green revolution’ of different kind that happened in Punjab.
The foundation of the Punjab hockey’s roaring comeback at the national scene was laid during the tenure of former Olympic captain Pargat Singh, who served as the Punjab director sports from 2005 to 2012.
Looking to recapture a passion for hockey in the great Punjabi heartland, Pargat came up with an idea of bringing astroturf to the villages. The main hurdle was the prohibitive cost. So, he decided that the solution to the problem was in the Public-Private Partnership. The state sports department bought used astroturfs at throwaway prices from around the country and cut them down to smaller, six-a-side turfs. As a result, around 20 villages now has a six-a-side astroturf.
“Due to fewer astroturfs in the state, children were not exposed to playing on synthetic turf. We had a budgetary crunch. So, we decided to buy the old turf and convert it into four to five six-a-side turfs. The department provided the turfs and the local clubs, with the help of villagers, constructed the concrete base on which the turf was laid,” recalls Pargat, who later quit director sports to join active politics. “The easy accessibility to the turfs helped in broad basing the sport and because of which today Punjab is regained its hockey supremacy. And proudly I can say that this system has contributed a lot in the country’s junior world cup triumph,” adds Pargat.
Out of the ten players from the state, nine are the products of the state-run Surjit Hockey Academy.
“Most of the players from the current lot started pursuing the sport seriously between 2005 and 2010. That time we started the Punjab state league in which there were 400 teams and the best players from the hockey centres across the state, including the one run in the villages, were picked for the excellence centre at Surjit Hockey Academy. And during that time we improved the facilities, including air conditioned hostels, and new turf,” says Pargat. “Sukhvir Grewal, who is currently the director of the Punjab Institute of Sports, has a major role to play in the overall planning of the sport during that time.”
Gurjant Singh, who hails from Amritsar, started his hockey career from Cheema Academy in Batala and later shifted to Chandigarh. “I started the sport in 2004 at Cheema Academy, but at that time there was no turf there, so I shifted to Chandigarh. But later six-a-side turf was laid and it helped in growth of the sport in the area. My cousin Simranjeet Singh, who was also part of the junior world cup squad, is a product of the Cheema Academy and he played there for quite a long time before being selected for the Surjit Academy, Jalandhar,” says Gurjant.
Hindustan Times
Harendra Singh's bond for the future
Manuja Veerappa
For over two years they had a recurring dream, of being world champions. So, in the wee hours of Monday when they grudgingly wound up their post-victory celebrations, the Indian junior hockey team did not hit the sac.
They wanted to continue living their dream. In fact, when skipper Harjeet Singh finally decided to catch a few winks, he did that with the Trophy as his comforter! Heavily hungover with success, they returned to their respective homes to the rhythm of bhangra and dhols in different parts of the country. From unknown faces up until a week ago to becoming the toast of the nation, life has turned 360 degrees for the young bravehearts.
While the boys' revelry continued, the architect of the team's success, chief coach Harendra Singh, was back in the comfort of his Air India colony quarters in New Delhi. As Harendra returned home on Tuesday, he was welcomed back by the aroma of his favourite sevai (sweet dish) and paratha prepared by his wife Samiksha. Hours after returning home, the World Cup-winning coach had quickly slipped into his domestic role and was busy running errands for his family. It was just another day in Harendra's life. Then again, it wasn't. The triumph and what it meant to him and his team, was not lost on the 50-year-old.
For Harendra, the title triumph wiped away the humiliation he had to go through when he landed in New Delhi from Bihar as a teenager with the dream of representing the country ."People didn't take kindly to me. My stick would be thrown around and people said, 'Yeh Bihari log rickshaw chalane Dilli aatey hain, hockey khelne nahin'(Biharis come to Delhi to drive rickshaws not to play hockey.)
So, when I became a coach, it was very important for me to ensure no player was treated the way I was. I taught the players to respect each other," recalled Harendra. According to the former international player, it was crucial for the players to strike a bond off the field to ensure success on the pitch. "The law of life is simple, to win something you have to lose something. Each player and support staff believed this and lived through those sacrifices. They are all young, were teenagers when they left home and entered the camp.
"With time, from players and support staff we became a family. Be it Holi, Ramzan, Diwali or Gurpurab, for over two years we celebrated these festivals with the family gifted to us by hockey.
The bonding between the boys became so strong that within a few months I realised if we could link this togetherness and emotional quotient with talent, a world-class team was in the making," he revealed. "Deep within, I believed this team was cut out for great deeds. I remember, when we reached Lucknow, one of the reporters asked, 'You finished 10th in the previous edition of the World Cup, where do you see the team this time'. I said, take the zero out (of 10), that will be the result," added Harendra.
'Team spirit and determination'
The success in the league matches translated into increase in the number of supporters in the stands. With that came the mounting pressure of expectations. As they entered the semifinals and the team was on the threshold of success, Harendra sat the boys down before the semifinal against Australia for a pep talk. "I told them to show their character in front of the home crowd. Character for me meant team spirit and determination to make the journey and sacrifices worthwhile. I said, ` Ask yourself, why you started playing hockey. Most of them said, to be on the top. Then I told them it is their chance to take that giant leap. That one step which would propel them to the top of the world."
Reliving the winning moments, Harendra recalled, "The first reaction on the bench was that of disbelief. They had to pinch themselves to believe what had just happened. Now we are the world champions. They boys cried like babies."
While jubilation recedes, the question is what next? "It is very important to keep these boys together and plan for their future ahead. The vision of course has to be Tokyo 2020. I can sense a 2020 Olympic medal. I know many players who played in Rio may not be around for the Tokyo Games, but I believe we have identified the replacements in each position."
The Times of India
The hard times that bind them all
In the build-up to the World Cup, coach Harendra Singh lost his brother, Santa Singh his sister and Krishan Pathak his father.
Written by Mihir Vasavda
Harendra Singh was team’s coach while PR Sreejesh was the goalkeeper of the junior squad in 2005 which lost the World Cup.
Just days before the junior hockey team left for its first tournament in 2014, coach Harendra Singh received a call from his family informing him that his cousin – an Armyman – had sacrificed his life while fighting insurgents in Mizoram.
Midfielder Santa Singh, a jovial 20-year-old, was relaxing with some of his teammates after a strenuous training session in mid-2015 when he learnt about the death of his sister back home in Sant Nagar, near Chandigarh.
In July this year, as Krishan Pathak geared up for his debut international tournament, a tour to England, his sister from Nepal called to break the news of their father’s passing away.
The junior India hockey team was crowned world champions after a gap of 15 years, when they beat Belgium 2-1 in the final. Behind the joyous Sunday evening scenes are tragic moments that went a long way in forging a strong bond among the players and shape the character of this team.
The Johor Cup in Malaysia in October 2014 was the first time Harendra had a proper assessment of his players. He had been appointed coach six months earlier, but they had been involved only in camps.
The team management decided to leave five days before the tournament began to ensure the players were properly acclimatised. For a majority of the players, this was their first international tour. On the day they were supposed to leave, Harendra got a call from his family. His cousin Mukesh was martyred.
“I did not know how to react. I called my players to the meeting room and told them what had happened,” Harendra says. “(Assistant coach BJ) Kariappa insisted that I return to my village to complete the rituals. Since the team was going five days in advance, he said I could join them before the tournament began.”
But Harendra refused. Abandoning the team ahead of its first major tournament would set a bad precedent, he felt. “I felt it was necessary to set an example. To achieve team goals, you need to make individual sacrifices. That’s the message I wanted to give to the boys,” he adds.
This wasn’t the only tragic incident Harendra suffered as he prepared his bunch of world beaters. In December last year, as the team’s preparation entered its home stretch, Harendra’s son injured his right eye in a freak accident while playing football. His retina was damaged to such an extent that 80 per cent vision was lost in the eye.
Others in the team too made sacrifices. Santa Singh, who started in the midfield in every match of the tournament, chose to skip his sister’s funeral last year while back-up goalkeeper Pathak did not travel to Nepal for his father’s last rites because he wanted to travel with the team for one of their most important exposure tournaments before the World Cup in July.
Galvanizing effect
These incidents brought the team together, Harendra says. “We have a Whatsapp group so everyone gathered in the team meeting room within five minutes. And they would not let the player who suffered the loss stay alone even for a moment. Someone or the other was there to take care of him,” Harendra says.
The coach himself focused on the emotional and psychological needs of the players, knowing well that these are the two key areas where Indian players had invariably faltered. In his first meeting with the players, he reminded them of the Sydney Olympics debacle, where India conceded a late goal against Poland to miss out on a semifinals berth.
“I told them that Indian teams of the past would get too emotional at times, which cost them a lot,” Harendra, who began as a coach in 1998 and has won nine gold medals since, says.
Harendra was a part of the coaching staff back in 2000 as well. He is the ultimate survivor. Various federation presidents have come and gone, the association itself was dissolved and formed again, and a dozen other coaches have been employed and sacked. But Harendra, regarded as one of the most technically sound coaches, has stayed on.
It’s hard to think of a player in the last decade or so who would not have been coached by Harendra at some point in his career – be it with the junior or senior India teams or domestically with Air India, CAG or in the HIL.
He has coached every junior World Cup team since 1998, except the one in 2009. He was in charge of the team in the build-up to the 2001 World Cup, which India won, and was briefly involved with the team that took part in the 2013 edition. They say India had the best generation of players for those two editions. But they were all individualistic in nature.
The hallmark of this team is its unity. And that, Harendra says, is a result of the hard times they have faced. “As a sportsman, sometimes you are not there when your family needs you the most. It hurts,” he says. “But the sacrifices are worth it. We faced all problems together as a team. That’s why we won the World Cup.”
Indian Express
Junior hockey players from Punjab to get Rs 25 lakh each
The 16-member Indian Junior Hockey team has ten Punjabi players. (HT Photo)
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday announced a cash award of Rs 25 lakh each for ten members of Indian junior hockey team who hail from Punjab.
“These players have done Punjab proud by beating the best in the world. They have also taken on the mantle of their seniors who have brought laurels to the country by excelling in this game. We can rightly claim that Punjab’s legacy in hockey is secure,” he said.
The 16-member Indian team has ten Punjabis, namely Captain Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Krishan Pathak, Gurinder Singh, Vikramjit Singh, Mandeep Singh, Simranjit Singh, Parvinder Singh and Gurjant Singh.
Hindustan Times
Bust of hockey legend Leslie Claudius installed in Kolkata
KOLKATA: A bust of legendary hockey player Leslie Claudius was installed at a prime location in the city on Tuesday.
Claudius, an Anglo-Indian based in Kolkata, was member of three Olympic gold medal-winning Indian teams -- London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956). At Rome (1960), he led India to a silver medal finish.
"Humbled to install bust of true Indian #Hockey legend Leslie Claudius today ParkSt #Kolkata 3 Olympic golds, 1 silver. Thanks @MamataOfficial," Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien who unveiled the bust tweeted.
Organised by the Leslie Claudius Memorial Committee, an affiliate of Calcutta Customs Superannuated Officers Association of which Claudius was the founder president, this is their third venture in the name of the hockey great.
The road leading to city football club East Bengal is named Leslie Claudius Road while the ongoing Beighton Cup runners-up prize is also in the name of the diminutive player known for his extraordinary half-line distribution and tackling.
"We are also planning to help aspiring players with scholarships in the name of Mr Claudius. We hope to start the initiative by next year," Leslie Claudius Memorial Committee Organising Secretary Soumyajit Bhowmick said.
Claudius retired from international hockey after the 1960 Olympics, but continued to compete in domestic tournaments till the 1965 season.
In 1971, Claudius became the sixth Indian hockey player to be given the prestigious Padma Shri award. He also served as the national team manager for the 1974 and the 1978 Asian Games.
He was also a national selector for several years.
Claudius passed away on December 20, 2012, aged 85, in Kolkata.
The Times of India
Terengganu beef up squad in bid to repeat double feat
by Aftar Singh
KUALA LUMPUR: Double champions Terengganu will be the team to beat in next season’s Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
The east coast team have hired four foreigners in the quest to win their fourth straight double – the Premier Division title and overall crown – when the league starts on Jan 4.
Terengganu have retained defender Muhamad Irfan of Pakistan, penalty corner specialist Jang Jong-hyun of South Korea and forward Pablo Javier Trevison of Argentina. Pakistan midfielder Ahmad Shakeel Butt, who featured for Terengganu in 2015, has also been hired.
Terengganu coach Sarjit Singh has also signed national and Sapura forward Mohd Firhan Ashaari and midfielder B. Namasivayam from Maybank to beef up the team.
“We are still searching for two more foreigners. Our mission is to win the double again,” said Sarjit.
To prepare for the new season, Terengganu played a few friendly matches with the Inner Mongolian team from China recently in Kuala Terengganu. They will also compete in a quadrangular tournament at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Stadium from Dec 23-27.
Besides Terengganu, the others in the eight-team Premier Division are Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI), TNB-Thunderbolt and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
The Star of Malaysia
Hockey looks for $100k, fundraising programs in progress
Pravin Narain
THE Fiji hockey men's team has to raise $100,000 in the next three months to compete in the Hockey World League round two in Bangladesh.
The tournament will be next March 4-12.
Fiji Hockey Federation president Dr Robin Mitchell said they were looking at avenues to raise the money.
"We opted to send the men's team only as the women's team also qualified for the Malaysia tournament in two weeks time.
"They will now go to the Oceania Cup in Australia in October," he said.
"Funding has always been an issue at this time of the year.
"Looking at the budget, the airfares are pretty good thanks to Fiji Airways. We have looked at the estimated budget of $160,000.
"We have been in contact with the local organising committee and once we get information from there, then we can finalise the budget.
"We have several fundraising programs in progress and once we meet with the squad in the new year, we should have a more definite budget."
He said the team was expected to be named next month by coach Hector Smith.
"The commission has given us $F60,000 and the constitution requires that there should be a levy, so we have a working budget for that and looking at fundraising and some small competitions.
"There are three pools of eight teams taking part in round two and the top two teams from each pool goes automatically to the semi-finals of the World Cup."
The team leaves for Bangladesh on March 1.
The Fiji Times
Aqualyte partnership with Hockey Australia
Partnership extends to AHPA
Holly MacNeil
Hockey Australia is pleased to announce a continued partnership with Aqualyte, a leading HYPOTONIC fluid and electrolyte hydration brand, which will run until the end of 2017. The deal will continue to see Aqualyte provide the Australian national teams, the Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos with all their fluid and electrolyte hydration needs.
As an offset of the partnership, the Australian Hockey Players Association (AHPA) will now link up with Aqualyte in a deal which will see the players further benefit from the sponsorship. This partnership will provide the AHPA with a discount code to pass on to family, friends, and fans which will provide them with a 10% discount on Aqualyte products via the Aqualyte website.
Australian owned and made Aqualyte is ideal for high performance athletes such as the Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos because of the low sugar, rapid absorption and scientifically balanced electrolyte replacement which makes it perfect for using in both a training and competition environment.
Ben Tarbox of Aqualyte commented: “Both national teams have been using Aqualyte as their rehydration solution for a number of years now, however it is great that we can formalise this through a sponsorship. Both teams are consistently at the forefront in their training and performance, and we are proud to be a part of this.
“In addition, our ability to provide direct support to the athletes through the players association is something that is really important to us. We are aware of the commitments that athletes are required to make in their endeavour to represent their country so it’s great that we can support this and to be able to contribute something back in addition to our sponsorship of Hockey Australia.”
Kookaburra and AHPA representative, Tyler Lovell said: “I can speak on behalf of the AHPA when I say that we are thrilled to have Aqualyte on board as a partner of not only our national teams through Hockey Australia, but also of our players’ association.
“The Kookaburras and Hockeyroos genuinely love Aqualyte and prefer it as our method of hydration, so to be able to formalise a partnership with Aqualyte that will benefit us both is really exciting.”
If you’re interested in trying Aqualyte out, you can buy online via the Aqualyte website and use the code: 'hockey' to receive the 10% AHPA discount.
Hockey Australia media release
How hockey has helped my sons with autism
Autism is defined as a developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how the experience the world around them – from the National Autistic Society.
We take pride in how inclusive our sport is and Abbey blogs about her search for the perfect sport for her two sons who have autism. She shares their journey to finding Milton Keynes hockey club and why they love being part of the hockey family.
“Zac and Walt are now 16 years old and were diagnosed with high-functioning autism at the age of 2 ½. They attend mainstream school, where they sadly don’t play any hockey but have full time learning assistant support. This is a snippet of our story of how hockey has helped us.
It is said, that the London 2012 Olympics inspired most of us. Zac and Walt were no exception to this. We watched a lot of the events on the TV but we were also lucky enough to go to the Paralympics to watch the athletics. However, the sport that caught their eye was hockey.
At school this had been my favourite sport and in my early twenties and through to my early thirties I picked up my stick and played for a couple of local Norfolk women’s teams. So I actively encouraged the boys to have a go.
I should explain that we had tried a whole number of sports with the boys including gymnastics, football, skiing, and golf;
Our first training session at our local club, Milton Keynes Hockey Club, consisted of Walt throwing himself into it and Zac stood on the sideline watching. The next week Zac decided he would have a go. After about 10 minutes he decided that he wanted to come off the pitch. I decided that at this point I would apply the ten times rule parenting technique and simply said sternly “you will stay on that pitch” and now we wouldn’t look back. We have found that the boys have really taken to playing hockey.
There are many reasons but I can highly recommend hockey to any parent of a child with autism for a number of reasons;
• They can merrily chew on a gum shield, you keep Sport Direct in business as you need at least one a week.
• They hold a stick which curbs a bit of hand flapping. It’s a winter sport which means it is usually cold so when they bounce everyone watching thinks they are just keeping warm.
• They are encouraged to turn around so spinning around looks like they are watching the game from every conceivable angle.
• Most of the other children who play are really quite nice
• And finally there are no off side rules!
Zac is currently trying out to be a hockey goalie. I’ll be honest the sibling rivalry has done wonders as they get it out of the system on the hockey pitch. In the most recent, away, league match (Zac’s second time in goal, with no formal training) the score was 6-1. We thought there was going to be tears and tantrums but Zac coped well. We saw him banging his leg with frustration a few times when the ball made contact with the back of the goal but we also saw him have a bounce when he managed to save some corking strikes from the opposition. Despite the final score, the team nominated Zac as man of the match. I am not sure if I had ever been prouder and Zac grinned from ear to ear when it was announced.
Having autism doesn’t make you the best communicator and Zac and Walt have both struggled socially in school but on the hockey pitch there is no sign of any communication difficulties. We never thought that they would play a team sport. We love to see the way the team engage with them and when they respond and talk about today’s match or playing last week with players, we are so proud to be a part of a local hockey club. We are no longer apprehensive about the future and that they may not have ‘friends’ or what they might do later in life to get out and about because we know they will always have hockey!
Four seasons on Zac is playing in goal for MKHC Mens Samurai team (nominated and won the player of the year for Samurai in 2014) with Walt playing a midfield position for his second season and scoring more goals than his mother could dream of. In the summer we all play together, in the MKHC mixed Summer League, which is great except for when your 16 year old turns to you and says “Mum keep up!”
A massive thanks to Abbey for sharing her story with us and wish her and her family all the best.
England Hockey Board Media release
Alban Pedro Fernandes, the great Tanzania Sportsman (1930 – 2016)
By Dil Bahra
Khalsa Sports Club 1975. Alban Fernandes, sitting first right
Former Tanzania Captain Alban Pedro Fernandes ("Kitremun") passed away at home in Edmonton, Canada on Tuesday December 13, 2016 at the age of 86 years.
Alban was born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and educated in Bangalore, India. He returned to Tanganyika in 1947. Having worked briefly with the Economic Control Board, Alban moved to the law firm of George Houry and Company.
Alban excelled and shone in the sports field from an early age. His passion for hockey and cricket propelled him to captaincy of the Goan Institute ‘A’ Team. In 1953, Alban was a member of the Goan Institute, Dar-es-Salaam that won the M.R. De Souza Gold Cup Competition (hockey) in Nairobi, Kenya.
He represented Tanganyika at the East African Championships first played in Uganda in 1959.
He was selected to Captain Tanganyika’s team for Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. The team had been invited after the United Arab Republic team withdrew and had been drawn to meet Kenya in the first round match on October 11. However, at the eleventh hour, the hockey team was withdrawn from the Olympic Games a day before the athletics team departed Dar es Salaam for Tokyo.
He also captained the Tanzanian Cricket Team. As Captain, he led the East African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) in field hockey and cricket. He also played in cricket test matches against Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), India, Pakistan and South Africa coloured level. His contribution as secretary of Dar and Tanzania Hockey Association was outstanding.
He also played hockey for Khalsa Sports Club, Dar es Salaam in the late 1970s.
Tarlochan (Tochi) Singh Sandhu, former Secretary of Tanzania Hockey Association and a former National Captain said “I had the pleasure of playing with Alban from 1960 to late 70’s for, Dar, Tanzania and for Khalsa Sports Club. He was full of confidence “Special One” and always strived to be the best. His contribution to cricket and more importantly to hockey will always be remembered. .Alban was not only a fantastic player and leader, he had the distinction of representing East Africa at both hockey and cricket. We were both on the executive of Dar as well as Tanzania Hockey Association and we both had the opportunity to captain the national team. Alban also played hockey with my elder brothers (both deceased) Jaswant and Pritam (later played for Kenya at Rome Olympics). We will miss him but his contribution will always be fresh in our mind. We have lost a great sportsman.”
Gajendra Doshi, former Captain of Zanzibar Hockey team had this to say about Alban “My friendship with Alban does back to 1950s when we first met and were introduced on the sports field. He played both hockey and cricket for Dar and also for Tanganyka in those days and now Tanzania.and also represent East Africa. I also played both hockey and cricket for Zanzibar. We were arch rivals on the field but once the game was over then we were good friends. In hockey he used to play full back where as I used to play center forward. He was a great sportsman as well as gentleman with big heart and always had a smile on his face and caring person. He was well respected and liked by his fellow sportsmen.”
Colonel Ameen Kashmiri, a former Tanzania Captain, President of Tanzania Hockey Association and President of East African Hockey Union had this to say ” Sad to hear about Alban's passing away. I was looking forward to meeting him next year. He was an aggressive and excellent defender. He was a good friend and I used to visit him at his office quite often.”
Alban immigrated to Edmonton, Canada in 1975. Once again, he shed his sporting talent to the Edmonton Goan Association field hockey team. He also coached various teams in cricket, notably the Alberta Under 21 cricket team to a National title.
A Memorial mass will be held at St. Dominic Savio Parish, 14406 - 62 Street, Edmonton today (Tuesday, December 20, 2016) at 11:00 a.m.
He is survived by his wife Therese of 64 years, daughter June (Albert), sons Aaron (Misun), Abner (Franca), Asaph (Yvonne) and Akiba.
Sikhs in Hockey