FIH appoints two Indian officials for London Olympics

New Delhi: RV Raghu Prasad and Claudius De Sales have been appointed as an umpire and judge respectively for the 2012 London Olympics hockey event.

Hockey India on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of the two after receiving an official confirmation from the International Hockey Federation (FIH). 33-year-old Bangalorean, Raghu, has booked his berth as one of the 17 elite umpires. Raghu, who has been rising steadily ever since he started officiating in international hockey events in 2003, was one of the two umpires shortlisted from India. Having officiated in two men’s Champions Trophies (2005, 2009) and two Junior World Cups (2005, 2009), he saw the first phase of his dream come true when he made his first appearance in the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi. Then came an Asian Games call-up in Guangzhou the same year. "As a World development panel umpire has always been my dream to officiate in the hockey`s dream tournaments and this time my dream has come true," Raghu said. 47-year-old Claudius is from Mumbai and has been officiating in FIH tournaments for the past six years. Claudius has been appointed by FIH in some big events in the recent past, including as a judge in the 2010 FIH World Cup held here. He was also appointed as a Technical Officer for both the 2010 Commonwealth Games here and the Asian Games. "It`s a proud moment for Indian Hockey that Raghu and myself have been appointed by FIH in the World`s most prestigious sporting event, 2012 Olympic Games," Claudius said. PTI