Former India goalkeeper Ashish Ballal is one of numerous ex-internationals drafted into World Series Hockey (WSH) 2011 as coach.
Other coaches include Darryl D'Souza (Delhi franchise), Romeo James (Chennai), Charles Gaudoin (Chandigarh), Jorge Dabanch Silva (Punjab), Shanmugam (Bangalore), Senthil Kumar (Bhopal) and Rahul Singh (Pune).
Ballal will be attached to the Mumbai squad in the city-based league, coached by Andrew Meredith, who is the Germany team assistant coach. All head coaches will have support staff, including coach, high performance manager, team manager, physio, video analyst, team doctor and two masseurs.
Ballal, Darryl and Romeo represented India with distinction, while Dabanch and Gaudoin have European coaching experience. Shanmugam is associated with the Jude Felix Hockey Academy in Bangalore and Senthil Kumar has played domestic hockey.
As per a WSH media release, Ballal stated: “Personally, I am looking forward to my tenure with Andrew Meredith who is a tech freak. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn and for the youngsters in the side to get a feel of international hockey.”
He added: “The draft system has ensured that all teams are well matched and balanced in terms of talent and potential. The fact that each team has a support staff is itself a big step forward for Indian hockey.”
