Mumtaz’s presence boosts morale of sub-junior girls
LUCKNOW: There was no stopping to 70-odd sub-junior girls, who made an extraordinary effort at the Padma Shri Mohd Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium under the scorching sun here on Friday.
These girls were put through their paces in 10 matches in six hours, which included a lunch break also. India’s new junior hockey star Mumtaz Khan was present to watch them play. She had come to the venue to meet hockey officials, including the UP’s sports director, RP Singh on a courtesy call.
“It really gives me pleasure when I see young girls putting in a lot of hard-work on a hockey ground, braving the odd conditions,” said Mumtaz, the highest scorer for India with eight goals, including a hattrick, at the recently concluded FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup in South Africa.
“It reminds me of the days when I was in this age group and putting in a lot of effort on the ground without caring about the conditions,” she added.
Mumtaz’s presence at Uttar Pradesh Hockey’s selection trials was a big boost for the young players.
“It’s really inspiring to have Mumtaz Di on the ground,” said one Jhalak. “I would love to follow in her footsteps, if given a chance,” said another aspirant Gungun.
A bunch of officials, including chief selector and former India hockey captain Rajneesh Mishra, Ranjeet Yadav, Rashid Aziz Khan, Neelam Siddiqui, former India player Imran-UlHaq and veteran Mukul Lal Shah monitored the proceedings, which began at 9am.
“The last time, we had a bronze medal at the sub-junior national championship at Simdega (Jharkhand) after beating Odisha 3-1. Our aim this time is to change the colour of the medal,” Mishra said during the trials.
“Uttar Pradesh have always been a force to reckon with in the domestic circuit. Our agegroup players in both the categories have been doing well for the last many years. This time, we have good talent too, and I am sure that UP will again have a podium finish,” added Mishra.
Last year, at Simdega, UP had an 8-0 win against Manipur, before crushing Assam 5-0 in the second game. In the quarterfinals, they brushed aside Bihar 11-0, but lost to Haryana 0-10.
In the 12th edition of the SubJunior Women’s National Championship scheduled from May 11 to 22 at Imphal (Manipur), Uttar Pradesh Hockey would start their league campaign with a match against Gujarat on May 15 before taking on Chhattisgarh Hockey on May 17.