Indian hockey umpire Joshi to officiate globally

National level Indian umpire Deepak Joshi was on Wednesday promoted to the international stage by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The FIH took the decision after seeing his performance in the U-21 Volvo Invitational held in the Netherlands in July.

Joshi started his career as an umpire from the SAIL National College Championship in 2012. He officiated at the 35th National Games in Kerala this year. He was a regular in the National Championships.

The 27-year-old was a hockey player and represented Uttarakhand in the National Championships from 2007 to 2010.

In 2011, he completed a Diploma in Sports Coaching from the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, and in 2012, he started working as a coach here. Presently, he is a regular coach for Delhi Hockey.

Joshi is among those young umpires from India who have recently been upgraded to international level.

Earlier this year, 24-year-old Deepa was promoted to the international scene in women's hockey. With Deepak and Deepa, a total of 13 Indian umpires (nine men, four women) are now in the category of international level umpires and officiate FIH tournaments around the world.

"This is another achievement of Hockey India," its secretary general Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said.

"Deepak is very professional about his work and his consistent hard work has paved the way for this reward. HI feels proud of the young umpire's achievements."