Hockey India League received a huge jolt with Delhi Waveriders' star Dutch drag-flicker Taeke Taekema having been ruled out of the much talked about series owing to a severe back injury. Ardent hockey fans who wanted to have a brief glimpse of his game were in for a huge shock with the sudden turnout of the events.
Taekema was expected to play a key role by being the crowd-puller bringing in more popularity for Hockey India League (HIL) on a big scale. It is already informed that the Dutch hockey mainstay was brought for 12.6 lakh to participate in this year’s HIL season to start from February 14 onwards.
"We will miss the services of our drag-flick specialist Taekema. We just got a message from him that he is injured. He is recuperating from a back injury and won't be available for the entire league," said Ajitpal Singh, the chief advisor of Delhi Waveriders.
Ajitpal was already distraught because of the chances of the Delhi team winning the medal will be hugely affected with Taekema not available at all. However, it is the DW’s chief advisor who has come out positively again for the team saying that they have replacements in place to play a crucial role in the side’s cause.
"It is a big loss for us as he is one of the best penalty corner specialists in the world. But we have a balanced side and I hope his absence won't affect us much," he explained.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that the Pakistani players too will participate in the leagues with several promising start lined up for the event. There is a mix of both experienced as well as fresh crop of players who would like to outshine their opponents. Celebrated players like Mohammad Rizwan Sr and Mohammad Rizwan Jr are already ensured the Delhi franchise about their availability. However, a clear statement has not been made by Ajitpal yet as he remarked that they would like to implement a wait-and-watch policy.
Earlier, it has been reported that nine players from Pakistan’s national hockey team were requested to appear before the Indian High Commission so that the formalities could be completed in this regard. As long as there is no official statement made by the commission in this regard, any further decisions taken about their participation would turn to be futile.
Presently, there is a huge pressure upon both the countries, India and Pakistan, with border tensions mounting again. The killing of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has proved to the immediate cause that has made the commission to think again. Actually, this incident is considered to be the actual reason for the denial visas to the Pakistan’s sportspersons who would like to participate in any event organized in India.
There was a similar incident that almost rocked the nation when former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad was granted visa to watch the final ODI between India and Pakistan. However, the whole issue got sidelined only after Miandad has cancelled his visa. Such incidents might pose security problems is what the reaction from certain sections of media in the country.
