England Team has more Sikhs than India’s - Sydney World Cup 1994 by Dil Bahra 2 May 2014 In our series of the impact Sikhs have had at Men’s Hockey World Cups, we look at the eighth World Cup held in Sydney, Australia in 1994. The eighth Men’s Hockey World Cup was held at the State Hockey Centre, Homebush, Sydney, Australia from 23 November - 4 December 1994. Twelve nations competed and were divided into two pools of six as follows: Pool A: Argentina, Australia, Belarus, England, Pakistan and Spain. Pool B: Belgium, Germany, India, Korea, Netherlands and South Africa. Indian Teams which were dominated by Sikh players in the past had only one Sikh player at Sydney World Cup in 1994. India, the bronze medal winners at the first World Cup in Barcelona in 1971 were led by a Sikh (Ajit Pal Singh) and had five Sikh players. The team Manager (Balbir Singh Sr.) was a Sikh. At the second World Cup in Amstelveen in 1973, where India won the Silver medal, the team coach was a Sikh (Balkrishan Singh) and had eight Sikhs. In the Gold medal winning team at the 3rd World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, the team which was led by a Sikh (Ajit Pal Singh) included seven Sikhs. And both the Team Manager and Team Coach were Sikhs - Balbir Singh Sr. and Gurcharan Singh Bodhi. Two Sikh Officials were appointed for the Sydney World Cup. Avtar Singh Sohal, a former Kenya captain, coach and umpire was appointed as a Judge at Sydney 1994 World Cup. After playing for City Primary School and Duke of Gloucester School in Nairobi, Avtar won his first international cap for Kenya when he was selected to play against South Africa at the age of 19. Three years later he was selected for the Rome 1960 Olympic Games. He was appointed as the National Team captain in 1962 for a Test series against Pakistan, and from then he led Kenya for a period of 10 years during which time Kenya were a powerhouse in the world hockey circles. He captained Kenya at Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972 Olympic Games and was also captain at the 1st World Cup in Barcelona in 1971 where Kenya finished fourth, narrowly losing 1 – 2 to India in the Bronze medal match. After retiring from playing, Avtar took over coaching and was Kenya’s Coach from 1978 to 1988. He was the team coach at Los Angeles Olympic Games. In addition to Coaching, he took up Umpiring and was awarded his FIH international Umpires badge in 1980. He was appointed on FIH’s Development and Coaching Committee in 1988 and was a Judge at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. Tarlok Singh Bhullar of India was on the Umpires panel. He was awarded his International badge in April 1986, his Grade 1 badge in September 1988 and his World Panel badge in October 1991. He umpired at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. England had two Sikhs in their team – Soma Singh and Kalbir Singh Takher. Soma Singh was making his second appearance at a World Cup. He had played at the Lahore 1990 World Cup. Soma, born in Sangathpur, Punjab, India, emigrated to the UK in 1966 aged one. He studied at Loxdale School, Bilston in Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton Polytechnic in England. He started playing hockey at an early age and by the time he was 13, he was selected for England U16 squad. Three years later he was in the England U18 & U19 squads. He earned his U21 cap when he was selected to play against Ireland at Aberystwyth, Wales in 1983 and played at the Vancouver 1985 Junior World Cup. A centre half/sweeper, he played for Khalsa Hockey Club and Southgate Hockey Club in London. He earned his first England senior cap in 1985 when he was selected to play against Pakistan in Ipoh, Malaysia. He earned his first Great Britain cap when he was selected to play against France in Paris in September 1990. Soma scored a goal in his debut for England Indoors against Czech Republic at Palais de Sauveur , Lille in December 1993. Kalbir Singh Takher was making his first appearance at a World Cup. Born in Wolverhampton in England, Kalbir studied at Highfield School in Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton University. An attacking midfielder, he played for English Premier League Club, Cannock. He earned his first England cap in April 1993 when he was selected to play against Germany in Celle, Germany. England Team: 1. David Luckes (G/K); 2. Simon Mason (G/K); 3. Phillip McGuire; 4. Julian Halls; 5. Soma Singh; 6. John Potter (Capt); 7. Jason Laslett; 8. John Shaw; 9. Kalbir Singh Takher; 10. Nick Thompson; 11. Chris Mayer; 12. Simon Nicklin; 13. Russell Garcia; 14. Robert Crutchley; 15. Simon Hazlitt; 16. Donald Williams. Manager: David Whittle; Coach: David Whitaker The Indian team had one Sikh in their squad for Sydney 1994 World Cup. Harpreet Singh Mander, a right half from Punjab Police was making his first appearance at a World Cup. He had played at Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games and also played at the Asia Cup and Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1993. India Team: 1. A B Subbaiah; 2. Alloysias Edwards; 3. Alexander Anil Aldrin; 4. Ranjnish Mishra; 5. K K Pooncha; 6. Harpreet Singh; 7. Jude Felix (Capt); 8. Shakeel Ahmed; 9. Sandeep Somesh Hamachimana; 10. Mukesh Kumar; 11. Varkey Sabu; 12. Dhanraj Pillay; 13. Mohommed Riaz Nabi; 14. Sanjeev Kumar; 15. Gavin Ferrera; 16. Edward Arahana. Manager: T Jesudanam; Coach: Cedric DSouza Final Classification: 1. Pakistan; 2. Netherlands; 3. Australia; 4. Germany; 5. India; 6. England; 7. Argentina; 8. Korea; 9. Spain; 10. South Africa; 11. Belgium; 12. Belarus. Next week: 9th World Cup – Utrecht, Netherlands 1998. sikhsinhockey
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 10:34:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015