OTHL team for Hockey India Sub-Junior Nationals 2018, Hojai

New hope on eastwards

03/01/2018

After many tours and many camps, each event helping downsizing the aspirants, the last word has come. One Thousand Hockey Legs boys team for the 8th Hockey India Sub-Junior Nationals has been arrived at. The team has left Delhi in the eary hours of Tuesday the 2 January, 2018. 18 of our boys will reach a place called Hojai in Assam, a new emerging semi-urban hockey centre in north eastern part of India. If the train would run in scheduled time it will take 42 hours for them to reach. However, a train has already been cancelled which we booked a month ago. A new one started with 8 hour late has ultimately reached the destination 24 hrs late. All the troubles are worth as the boys will see in themselves in an exciting all India atmosphere where each state's best will engage the other

OTHL team on the picturesque Hojai team

Lot of effort has been put in by the Hockey Citizen Group to prepare the best team. Every Sunday starting from July, these boys have been separately trained. They were then sent to Ludhiana twice, each running into 12,13, working days. Here, we got free access to turf ground, a nearby Gurudwara taking care of both spiritual and dietary needs. The town also has a good hockey team, they presented us with good compeitition edge daily. These boys were also given maximum posssible tournament exposes. The icing on the cake is lucky entry of OTHL Seniors in the Balwant Kapur Singh Memorial Cup. With such a vast experience and motivation, the boys set to take on the best in the Assam Sub-Junior Nationals.

THREE players will be playing the Sub-Junior Nationals third time. These gifted players are Sanjay Soni, Pawan and Zainul Samar. They are supposed to shoulder the responsibility of steering the colts to success in Hojai. Born in Dec 2014, Rahul of Janakpuri school is the youngestest, even younger than Md Arbaz and Sachin.

TEAM:

1. Sanjay Soni (Midfielder, YA SBV, Ambedkar Nagar)

2. Abhinandan (Forward, GBSSS Mahrauli)

3. Nakul (Forward turned midfielder, GBSSS Saket J)

4. Ishlok Tiwari (All rounder, VCS, GBSSS Saket J)

5. Zainul Samar (Defender, Last year captain, STC inumbent YA SBV, Ambedkar Nagar)

6. Ritik Maheswari (Last year standbye, GBSSS Saket J)

7. Pawan (Forward, Last year Vice-captain, STC inumbent, GBSSS, Khanpur, Ambedkar Nagar)

8. Arbaz Siddiqui (Young, up and coming player, all rounder, GBSSS, C-3, Janakpuri

9. Abdul Qadir (Midfieder, Anglo-Arabic Sr Sec School, Ajmeri Gate)

10. Rahul Sharma (Forward, Youngest of the team, GBSSS C-3, Janakpuri)

11. Lovepreet Singh (Guest goalkeeper)