Bangalore, Aug 01: Seeking to build on India's impressive performances at the international level in recent weeks, hockey stars Dhanraj Pillay and Ashish Ballal are embarking on moves to rope in more corporate support for the sport. The Dhanraj-Ballal Academy here which has a mission to produce world-class players, is organising a nine-day hockey carnival for non-league playing corporate teams beginning here tomorrow.
"The intention is to raise the level of hockey and to attract more corporates to encourage the sport. As many as 16 teams are taking part and the matches would be played between 5 pm and 10 pm under floodlights," Ballal, the goalkeeper of the Indian Airlines team, said here today. "It is a five-a-side tournament and the format is also very exciting," he said.
The good performances of the Indian team on overseas assignments in recent times have certainly enhanced the interest of the corporate sector in hockey, Ballal said. The academy, started by Indian captain Pillay and Ballal in 2001, is currently training 35 boys in the 14-20 age category and the goalkeeper expects them to make a mark in the next two years.
Many corporates have come forward and some hockey lovers also chipped in with contributions but more needed to be done to pump in additional resources, Ballal said. Bureau Report