HI appoints Grewal as high performance manager

Hockey India (HI) Thursday appointed former coach Sukhvir Singh Grewal as Manager - High Performance (North Zone) for developing the sport at the grassroot level in the zone.

Grewal, who will take charge Aug 1, will identify, develop and give players an international platform to showcase their skills. Having coached India 1987-92, Grewal understands the nuances of his role and will also monitor and evaluate the performances of coaches of HI's member units and academies.

North Zone comprises Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Previously, HI had also appointed former India captain V. Baskaran for the same role in South Zone. The federation also aims to put in more people in Central, East and West zones. The manager of each zone will work under Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans.

"HI welcomes Sukhvir Singh Grewal. I would like to tell him that we are very happy that he accepted our proposal to be the Manager High Performance in the all important North Zone," said HI secretary general Narinder Batra.

"In the past we have seen that this zone has brought to the forefront many world class players who have made us proud. Hence this zone becomes very important as we are sure that there is a dearth of talent in this zone which needs to be skillfully developed."

Speaking on his appointment, Grewal said, "I thank HI for the initiative. Hockey has totally changed in the past few years. By starting this, we can expect better results from Indian hockey in the coming years at international level. It will help us to create a greater pool of players."

Grewal had represented India at the World Cup in Buenos Aires and Asian Games in 1978.