Punjab register hat-trick of defeats as UP hit ground running

Right after they had beaten Punjab Warriors 2-1 in their Hockey India League opener, the UP Wizards quartet of Nitin Thimmaiah, VR Raghunath, SK Uthappa and Pradhan Sommanna headed into the players' enclosure to have coffee. The choice of beverage was easy to explain. All four hail from Coorg, famous for its coffee estates.

"All four of us studied in St. Thomas High School. The last few years have seen a lot of players coming into the national team from Coorg, and the hockey culture there is strong enough to produce even more players," said Thimmaiah, who made his India debut in the Europe tour before the London Olympics.

Own goal

Thimmaiah and Raghunath set up the second goal for UP, an own goal from Punjab goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann that gave them an eventually decisive 2-1 lead. Raghunath, one of the experienced players of the national team, was also crucial in thwarting the likes of Jamie Dwyer and Mark Knowles. The 24-year-old was picked up for US$ 76,000 by UP and is the skipper of the team.

"It was great to be picked up for such a huge amount. A lot of our juniors in Coorg called me on the auction day and congratulated me. It was big news for hockey fans back home. Looking at the amount of players emerging from the region, I guess there will soon be a franchise from Coorg in the league," said Raghunath.

Uttar Pradesh coach Roelant Oltmans, who was appointed Indian hockey's high performance technical director on Thursday, said some of his youngsters would play key roles for India over the coming years. "Players like Thimmiah and Harbir Singh are the talents to look out for," he said. "Their basics are good and they will benefit from playing alongside the likes of legends like Teun de Nooijer."

... contd.

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