Five-a-side Hockey, India to play in Youth Olympic Qualifier at Bangkok next month
Growing size of Olympics has been a subject of debate in the top circles of the Olympic movement as some team games may either be dropped or would be forced to introduce their shorter version to retain their respective places in the Olympics. If continuation of five-a-side hockey in Youth Olympic Games is any indication, it is not difficult to infer future of present 11-a-side sport in the Olympics. It may be the reason that Hockey India has woken up to the reality and started focusing on five-a-side hockey after the introduction of the shorter version of the game in the past two editions of Youth Olympic Games. Next month, when qualifying tournament for the next edition of Youth Olympic Games is held in Bangkok, Thailand, India has decided to participate in both men's and women's section. The Olympic qualifier, which is primarily for under-18 players will see India grouped with Korea, Japan, Hong Kong China and Cambodia in Pool A while the Indian women’s team will take on Korea, Thailand and Singapore in Pool B. The qualifier starts on April 25 and this five-day event is for players between the age of 15 and 18 years and the tournament. While Indian men’s team will play its first match against Cambodia on the opening day and the Women will take on Singapore on the same day. Speaking about the Indian teams ( both men and women) prospects at the Qualifiers, David John, Hockey India’s High Performance Director said, “By winning this tournament, teams become eligible for the Youth Olympic Games, so we have to go there to win. It will be challenging because it is five-a-side Hockey and the nature of the game can be quite unpredictable. Though Hockey India is promoting five-a-side hockey through its annual national championship, the players need more exposure in this format. However, the teams are training hard under Jude Felix ( men) and Baljeet Singh Saini ( women) at Agra five-a-side hockey facility. We have 21 players in the camp but after selections on 23 March 2018, the group will be pruned down to 12 players in each team, including three standbys.” Hockey was introduced at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 Youth Olympic Games. The inaugural edition was an outdoor hockey event, in which Australia won the Gold medal, defeating Pakistan 2-1. In 2014, five-a-side Hockey was introduced, and Australia again emerged victorious, beating Canada 3-2 on penalty strokes, after a 3-3 standard time finish. The women's edition was won by Netherlands in 2010 and China in 2014. John further emphasized that doing well in this tournament will give the youngsters good international exposure ahead of the Junior World Cup qualifiers. “The qualifiers in Bangkok will give the opportunity for the junior players to play an international tournament and see where we stand among the Asian competitors. If we win in Asia and qualify for the Youth Olympic Games then it gives us an opportunity to compare this age group to other countries and assess where we stand. Making it for the Buenos Aires event is important as it provides the right kind of exposure for Junior World Cup Qualifiers which most likely will begin next year,” stated the High Performance Director. -PTC News
