World Cup hockey tournament director Ken Read now targets Sandeep Singh

It's Sandeep's turn to be targeted by tournament director

World Cup hockey tournament director Ken Read now targets Sandeep Singh

After banning India striker Shivendra Singh for two matches for an physical offence during India's opener, tournament director Ken Read recently summoned drag flicker Sandeep Singh for a 'doubtful' tackle. "Read was unsure about a certain tackle made by Sandeep against an England player and reviewed the videos after the match. He also met up with Sandeep later, but only to convey that the tackle was clean and that he was satisfied with the Indian defender's effort," a source told MiD DAY.

Kya item hain!
The stall selling official merchandise for the Hero Honda FIH World Cup here has also not been spared by the Delhi cops. The outlet has on its list of items miniature hockey sticks, plastic hooters and bull horns, besides T-shirts, caps and wrist bands.

However, the staff manning the stalls have been strictly warned by the cops not to sell the sticks, hooters and horns inside the stadium complex as part of a security measure.

Argentina's woes
Many in the media box here were relieved to learn that India will have to take on Argentina and not New Zealand for the seventh spot play-off on March 12. The New Zealanders (8) are not only ranked higher than India (12) in the FIH rankings but they also have a couple of good victories to boast of in the World Cup here (2-1 against Canada and 3-2 against Korea). Argentina on the other hand are ranked a lowly 14th. "Argentina should stick to playing football which they are good at. In hockey, India will rip them apart," one scribe remarked.

Horst backs Brasa
While many would criticise India coach Brasa's strategy to inter-change players' positions every six to seven minutes, hockey and football guru Horst Wein justifies the move. "It's a scientific fact that the human body loses considerable amount of energy if worked at a fast pace for a continuous seven to eight minutes. So there's no problem in Brasa's strategy of frequently changing players,"u00a0 said Wein.