GERMANS TAKE THE CAKE
Even though the corpus is not as huge as the IPL, Thursday’s Hockey India League auction saw a German player breach the $100,000 mark
PAKISTAN LEFT OUT
Pakistani players once again did not feature in the auction with the Hockey India chief saying that he wanted an apology from the Pakistan federation over an unruly incident in 2014
NEW DELHI: German hockey players topped the charts during the Hockey India League (HIL) players’ auction, with midfielder Maritz Fuerste — a member of the gold-medal winning team at the 2012 London Games — being snared for a record $105,000 (`69.50 lakh) by Kalinga Lancers on Thursday.
Fuerste’s compatriot Florian Fuchs (forward) and Tobias Hauke (midfielder) were auctioned for $96,000 (`63.5 lakh) each. The duo was also a part of the team that won gold in London. Florian will play for Dabang Mumbai, while Hauke will represent Uttar Pradesh Wizards.
India hockey skipper Sardar Singh will don the Punjab Warriors’ jersey for the next two years after he went for a price tag of $58,000 (`38.4 lakh). Sardar, who was one of the six marquee players during the inaugural season in 2012, was bought by the Delhi Waveriders for $78,000 (`51.6 lakh) then. Despite being the fulcrum of the Delhi franchise, he was among several players released for auction.
A top official of the Punjab franchise, Jagbir Singh, told HT that it was too early to say if Sardar would lead the side. “It’s too premature to talk on the issue. The league is still four months away,” said Jagbir.
Unexpectedly, Akashdeep Singh topped the list of money earners among Indians, grossing $84,000 (`55.5 lakh ). He will play for the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and defender Gurmail Singh both went for $81,000 (`53.3 lakh). While Sandeep will don the Ranchi Rays jersey, Gurmail will play for Mumbai Dabang.
Belgian striker Tom Boom, who was picked by Dabang Mumbai for a record $103,000 (`68.1 lakh) last year, opted out of the auction this year. Australian legend Jamie Dwyer didn’t evoke must interest and was finally bought for $ 57,000 (`37.69 lakh) by UP Wizards.
Overall, 272 players, including 135 Indians, were up for auction.
FIH NOT TO INTERFERE
IANS ADDS: The international hockey federation (FIH) has said it does not intend to interfere in the tiff between the Indian and Pakistani federations. Pakistani players have once again gone amiss in the HIL players’ auction. On Monday, HI president Narinder Batra said that Pakistani players will not feature in the tournament if there is no apology from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) over the conduct of some of its players during the 2014 Champions Trophy played in Bhubaneswar.
Two Pakistani players were handed a one-match ban by the FIH for making obscene gestures after their team’s 4-3 win over hosts India in the Champions Trophy semifinal in December 2014.
Given the high quality of players, skill and entertainment in competitions like the HIL and EuroHockey League, they are the ideal environment to try out new ideas for improving the game KELLY FAIRWEATHER, FIH chief executive