Ooty: Three girls have made it to the Tamil Nadu sub-junior hockey team from the Nilgiris to compete for the sub-junior national championship. Mr S. Anantha Krishnan, president of Hockey-Nilgiris, which is a unit of Hockey-Tamil Nadu, said it was another proud moment for Hockey-Nilgiris that Saagarika Das, Christina Ponnuchamy and S.S. Aarthy, all hailing from Lawrence School in Lovedale, near Ooty, have been selected to represent the Tamil Nadu women’s hockey team at the ensuing 5th Hockey India sub-junior hockey championship.
“State-level open trials were conducted at Chennai in mid-May where 75 players from various districts of Tamil Nadu took part. After getting shortlisted for the coaching camp in Chennai, these girls made it to the final 18-member playing squad,” he explained. Recently, three boys from the Nilgiris were selected to represent the Tamil Nadu state sub-junior team in the boys category and the selection of these girls has one more jewel to the crown of Hockey-Nilgiris, he said proudly.
In this year alone, 4 boys and 4 girls have made it to the nationals representing Tamil Nadu from the Nilgiris in the junior and sub-junior category for hockey, he added. Ms Sangita Chima, headmistress, Lawrence School, and Ms Kamaljeet Kaur, vice-president Hockey-Nilgiris, joined the other office-bearers of Hockey-Nilgiris in wishing the team before their departure to Ranchi for the tournament, he said.
