The Indian men’s hockey team’s World Cup campaign
suffered another setback when striker Nikkin Thimmaiah pulled out with a
hamstring injury. The Coorg lad sustained the injury during the team’s
practice session on Monday and will return home in the next few days.
Yuvraj Walmiki – one of the seven standbyes named for
the mega event – will replace Nikkin. The Mumbai lad is leaving for The Hague
on Tuesday evening.
This is the second injury blow for the Indian team after 2014 Hero Hockey India League’s most expensive player Ramandeep Singh withdrew from the event after severely injuring his right eye socket and cheekbone during the team’s opening practice game against Argentina – the Blueshirts had lost that game 1-2.
It may be noted that Yuvraj’s exclusion from the original 18-member squad took many by surprise and one hopes he makes the most of this opportunity. Earlier, Lalit Upadhyay left for The Hague to replace the injured Ramandeep Singh.
The Terry Walsh-coached side would be hoping that
the replacement players would make up for the absence of Ramandeep and Nikkin
in the 2014 World Cup.
The writer can be contacted at:
suhridbarua@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment