There was quite a buzz at the Vidarbha Hockey Association (VHA) ground on Wednesday evening. For the first time, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) moved out of its region and came to Nagpur to select players for its renowned academy. Around 60 players from as far as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Balewadi Pune, apart from Amravati, Armori, Bhandara, Gondia, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Bramhapuri and Nagpur appeared for the trials which was held under the watchful eyes of hockey Olympian Sameer Dad, who is coach of the academy. The players were seen playing some fast paced hockey during the trial matches. Dad was impressed with the talent. “This kids are really talented. They have skills and stamina. I am really impressed,” said Dad while talking with ‘The Hitavada’. “This is for the first time we have ventured out of Madhya Pradesh to pick players for our academy. Irshad Mirza requested me to watch the talent of Vidarbha players and we decided to see what this region boasts of.

 

I am happy that we came here,” said Dad who was accompanied by other selectors including Dr Habib Hasan and Lokendra Sharma. The selection trials will be conducted in five phases with the one at Nagpur being the second. “We have completed phase one where we visited Guna, Gwalior, Murena and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh. From Nagpur we will move to Seoni, Baitul, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Damoh, Tikamgarhand Sagar,” informed Dad who was part of Indian team that participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The trials were held in Under-14 and Under-18 age categories. Irshad Mirza, Bablu Neware, Umesh Yadav assisted during the trials. Earlier, Dad and his team was welcomed by Social Worker Kishor Jichkar, Harish Kapoor, Krishna Joshi, Shahnawaz Khan and others.