News 2014
Top Hockey stars of the world and members of Ranchi Rhinos team in Kolkata!!
- to kick start their campaign HIL 2014!!
- to promote Hockey in West Bengal
- Play an exhibition match in honour of Leslie Claudius
Kolkata, 19th January 2014: There was a time in history when India was home to the best hockey players known to the world, and the only and biggest threat for competing teams in the Olympics. But India has not only lost its Olympic glory but has also left our government in a jiffy of thoughts whether to keep the sport as our National Game**. The management and players of Ranchi Rhinos have always strived to nurture new talent and promote Hockey in the country. Ranchi Rhinos is the prevailing champion team of the Hockey India League and in their continuous endeavor to promote and honor the sporting legends, all the players were here in Kolkata not only to kick their 2014 campaign but also make appeal to revive the lost glory of Indian Hockey and they choose Kolkata to do so!!
In the evening, the team is scheduled to play an exhibition match in the honour of legendary sportsman and ex-olympian – Leslie Claudius. The match is also being played to commemorate his first death anniversary. Leslie Walter Claudius (25 March 1927 – 20 December 2012) was an Indian field hockey player from Bilaspur. Claudius was a member of India’s generation of hockey that won the Olympic gold in 1948, 1952 and 1956 and silver in 1960.
The Kolkata based owners and promoters of Ranchi Rhinos team introduced the players and support staff to the gathered press along with the HIL trophy. The team was boosting with confidence as they raised the trophy high to re-claim their championship to warm up the HIL 2014 which starts on 25th January 2014. Ranchi Rhinos play their first match on 26th January’2014 against Uttar Pradesh Wizards in their home ground Ranchi.
Addressing the press at conference, Mr. Banti Singh, CEO, Asia Sports Venture Pvt. Ltd. said, “The players are focused and we are confident to defend our championship this season again but today we are here for higher objective. With our actions we wish to inspire the new generation to take up the sport and join hands to grab the hockey stick and revive the lost glory of the sport. Today evening the exhibition match will witness ex-Olympians, Sports Ministry of West Bengal and stars of Ranchi Rhinos join hands to promote hockey. So please join us for the match which will be played under flood lights and help us bring back hockey in our life”.
** Noted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_India#Field_hockey
The evening exhibition match will see in attendance Sri Madan Mitra, Hon’ble Sports Minister (Govt. of W.B) along with Hon’ble MLA, Sri Shane Calvert. Also for the first time, a sporting event would see support of legendary Olympians and players like:
- Padma Shri S. Balbir Singh (Sr) -Iconic Olympian, Member of Indian team winning 3 gold in Olympics: 1948, 1952 & 1956( Captain). His name entered in THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.
- Yashwant Rajput – Ex-Olympian
- Keshav Dutt – Ex-Olympian (1952-56), 2 Gold Medals
- Gurbux Singh – Ex-Olympian(1960-68), Arjuna Award Awardee, Banga Vibhushan Awardee
- Rajbeer Singh – International Player
- Haripada Guha – International Player
- B.B Chetri – Ex- Olympian
- Anand Mondapak – International Player
- Divnain Singh- Ex-Olympian and ex-olympic coach (India)
- Baljeet Singh Saini : Played 2 Olympics, Arjuna Awardee, Coach of Ranchi Rhinos
Also present at the match will be Brendon Claudius (Son of Leslie Claudius) and Officials of Bengal Hockey Association:
- President : Gautam Mohan Chakroborty
- Secretary : Salil Basu
- Vice President : Noomi Mehta
Ranchi Rhinos: Team structure and players profile
| Midfielders: | Defenders: | Goalkeepers: | Forwards: |
| Birendra Lakra
Austin Smith Manpreet Singh Kothajit Singh Ashley Jackson Moritz Fuerste (Capt) Floris Evers Barry Middleton Marcos Salles Esteve |
Justin Reid Ross
Sumit Topno Sukhmanjit Singh Amit Rohidas Bosco Perez-Pla de Alvear
|
Francisco Juancosa
Sushant Tirkey
|
Prabhdeep Singh
Mandeep Singh Parvinder Singh Arvind Kujur Stanli Victor Minz Vikas Choudhary Amon Mirash Tirkey Eduard Arbós Borras |
KNOW YOUR PLAYERS:
| Moritz Fuerste (Capt)
Nationality: Germany |
Born: October 28, 1984(age 29), Hamburg, Germany
Local club: CLUB DE CAMPO VILLA DE MADRID Debut: 2005 |
| Moritz Fürste is a field hockey player from Germany. He was a member of the Men’s National Team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics as well as at the 2006 World Cup. ‘Captain Mo’ as he is generally called by his teammates in Ranchi Rhinos is most towering figure in the midfield of the team. The binding force of Ranchi Rhino is the most respected player in the field of Hockey with tons of experience. | |
| Francisco(“Quico”) Cortés Juncosa
Nationality: Spain |
Born: March 29, 1983(age 29), Terrassa, Barcelona
Local club: DEN BOSCH HOCKEY CLUB Debut: 2003 |
| The last man in the line of defense, the shot stopper of the team, everyone is aware of the heroics displayed by him in the previous HHIL edition. A cult figure in the team has tons of International experience.
Francisco (“Quico”) Cortés Juncosa is a Spanish field hockey goalkeeper. He was a member of the Men’s National Team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, PR China. |
|
| Stanli Victor Minz
Nationality: Indian |
Born: May 25,1992 (age 21)
Local club: Odisha state Debut: 2012 |
| Stanli Victor Minz is an Indian hockey player who plays in the forward position. Also, adjudged the best player in ALL INDIA GOLD CUP (2009). | |
| Sumit Topno
Nationality: Indian |
Born: 1994 (age19)
Nationality: Indian Local club: Jharkhand state |
| Sumit Topno is an Indian field hockey player playing in the defending position. This Jharkhand lad is the young cog in the defence wheel of Ranchi Rhinos. He also won silver in Junior National games 2011 | |
| Birendra Lakra
Nationality: Indian |
Born: February 3, 1990(age 23)
Local club: Jharkhand state Debut: 2012 |
| Birendra Lakra is the most known face in the Indian Hockey circuit. He is a regular in Indian Men’s Hockey team and is the budding midfielder creating many scoring opportunities for the team. He represented India in Men’s Hockey during the 2012 London Olympics. Lakra’s elder brother Bimal has played as a midfielder for India. His sister Asunta Lakra has played for India’s women’s hockey team and has captained the side. | |
| Austin Charles Smith
Nationality: South Africa |
Born: May 20, 1985 (age 28)
Local club: HC DEN BOSCH Debut: 2004 |
| Austin Smith is a field hockey player and former captain of South Africa, who competed in the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 2010 Men’s Hockey World Cup in New Delhi and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. This lanky South African is the other foreign recruit in the ranks of Ranchi Rhinos. Having a penchant for scoring goals and an eye for creating chances, he along with Moritz Fuerste is considered the most lethal midfield duo in Hero Hockey India League. | |
| Floris Evers
Nationality: Tilburg, Netherlands |
Born: Feb 26, 1983 (age 29)
Local club: Amsterdam H&BC Debut: 2002 |
| Floris Maarten Alphons Maria Evers is a field hockey player from the Netherlands, who won the silver medal with the Dutch national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. And was a captain of the team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He has played in all the top leagues the world of field hockey, recently after London Olympics, he along with teun de noijer (another great) retired from the international hockey, he is currently with the team Ranchi rhinos, in hockey India league as of Feb 2013. | |
| Bosco Perez-Pla De Alvear
Nationality: Madrid, Spain |
Born: Sep 26, 1987 (age 25)
Local club: Club de Campo Villa De Madrid Debut: 2006 |
| Bosco Perez-Pla De Alvear is a young and upcoming defender for Spain. He played more during the 2010 World Cup, the last Olympics and the WHL, recently in Rotterdam. | |
| Sushant Tirkey
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Sep 01, 1993
Local club: Odisha Debut: 2012 |
| Sushant tirkey is a field hockey player from India. This young Bhubaneshwar lad is one of the newest stars in the national team considered to have a bright future. | |
| Manpreet Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Feb 26, 1992 (age 21)
Local club: Punjab and Indian Overseas Bank. Debut: 2011 |
| Manpreet Singh born in Jalandhar is an Indian field hockey player for Indian National Team who plays as halfback. He is in the current national squad and was also the captain of Indian Junior World Cup Hockey Team 2013. Manpreet Singh was the only player to be listed in the Azlan Shah XI team. | |
| Ashley Jackson
Nationality: England |
Born: Aug 27, 1987 (age 26), Chatham, Kent
Local club: EAST GRIWSTEAD HC Debut: 2006 |
| Ashley Jackson is an English field hockey player. He is presently playing the World Cup League final (Delhi) and is a great drag flicker. He was a member of the British squad that finished ninth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens then appeared again in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and finishing 4th in London’s 2012 Olympics. | |
| Justin Reid-Ross
Nationality: South Africa |
Born: July 16, 1987 (age27), Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Local club: NORTHERN BLUES Debut: 2005 |
| Justin Reid-Ross is a South African field hockey player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the national team in the men’s tournament. He is a great drag flicker. | |
| Kothajit Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Aug 17, 1992 (age 21), Imphal East district.
Local club: Indian Oil and Manipur. Debut: 2012 |
| Kothajit Singh earned his maiden India shirts in a Test series against South Africa with his impressive performance at junior level. The north Indian lad moved to the SAI centre in Lucknow in 2009 to hone his skills. He made his mark in the Ranchi National Games in February last. Later, he proved his worth when he was selected for the National camp. He was the Vice Captain of the Junior World Cup 2013. | |
| Parvinder Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: 1994 (age 19), Imphal East district.
Local club: Surjit Academy,Jalandhar. Debut: 2011 |
| Another talented graduate of Surjit Academy, Parvinder is rated high as a player and considered a bright talent for the Indian hockey | |
| Amit Rohidas
Nationality: Indian |
Born: May 10,1993, Odisha
Local club: Odisha Debut: 2011 |
| Rohidas started playing hockey in his Saunamura village with local boys. Hockey is very popular in this village and the nearby areas as famous international player Dilip Tirkey hails from this village. In 2004, he joined Panposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela where he transformed from a boy to a hockey player. He represented the Hostel in many district and state-level tournaments, and still plays for the Hostel. | |
| Mandeep Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: January 25 1995 (age18), Jalandhar, Punjab.
Local club: PUNJAB Debut: 2011 |
| Nothing short of genius could be used to describe this precocious talent from Punjab. The highest goal scorer of the previous edition of HHIL, this prodigious lad is known for his excellent ball control and dribbling. A product of Surjit Hockey Academy (Jalandhar), he currently plays as a forward for Ranchi Rhinos in the Hockey India League and the India national field hockey team. He was selected as the most promising player in HIL 2013 and was awarded with Rs. 20 lakh cash prize. | |
| Arvind Kujur
Nationality: India |
Born: 1995 (age 18)
Local Club: Jharkhand Debut: 2012 |
| Prabhdeep Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Nov 5, 1992 (age 20)
Local Club: Punjab and Sind bank. Debut: 2012 |
| Prabhdeep Singh was the Junior World Cup player | |
| Vikas Chaudhary
Nationality: Indian |
Born: 1993 (age 20)
Local Club: M.P. Academy (Bhopal) Debut: 2011 |
| Amon Mirash Tirkey
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Nov 18,1993 (age 19)
Debut: 2011 Local Club: ODISHA STATE |
| Eduard Arbos Borras
Nationality: Spain |
Born: May 7, 1983( age 30),Terassa,Catalunya
Local club: Egara Debut: 2005 |
| Eduard Arbós Borras is a Spanish field hockey player. He was a member of the Spanish National Team that claimed the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, PR China | |
| Barry Middleton
Nationality: Indian |
Born: January 12, 1984 (age 30), Doncaster, United Kingdom
Local club: Doncaster Debut: 7 April, 2003 |
| Barry John Middleton is an English field hockey player and captain of England Team. The midfielder/forward made his international debut in April 2003 against Belgium. He is presently playing the World Cup League final (Delhi). He was a member of the Great Britain squad that finished ninth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and fifth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the England Squad that won the 2009 Eurohockey Nations Cup and gained silver at the 2010 Champions Trophy. He plays for Holcombe, having formerly played for East Grinstead, HGC, Cannock and Doncaster. | |
| Marc Salles Esteve
Nationality: Spain |
Born: May 6, 1987 (age 26)
Local club: Atletic de Terassa Debut: 2005 |
| Marc Sallés (born 6 May 1987) is a Spanish field hockey player, playing midfield. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the national team in the men’s tournament. | |
| Sukhmanjit Singh
Nationality: Indian |
Born: Nov 01,1993
Position: Defender Club: Punjab |
| Another graduate from Surjeet Hockey Academy, Jalandhar, is the new entrant in the Men’s Junior team. | |
About Asia Sports Venture Pvt. ltd.
Asia Sports Ventures Pvt. Ltd. is jointly owned by Shri Suresh Chauhan of Uniexcel Group of Taiwan, Shri Surendra Dugar of PS Group,Kolkata and Shri Vikram Jain of Patel Group , Bangalore. This company has been specially formed out of their passion and love for the games in order to promote, primarily hockey our national game, which has been neglected for so long and also to nurture talent at the grass root level. In absence of Astro Turf in Calcutta, the International Hockey Federation & Hockey India offered Ranchi franchisee to Asia Sports Venture Pvt. Ltd.
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