Pune Strykers
| Pune Strykers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Full name | Pune Strykers | ||
| Nickname(s) |
Strikers Masters of Comeback | ||
| Founded | 2011 | ||
| Colors | Turquoise | ||
| Head Coach |
 Gundeep Singh | ||
| Assistant Coach |
Rahul Singh | ||
| Manager | Mervyn Fernandis | ||
| Captain |
 Ken Pereira | ||
| Home ground |
PCMC Hockey Stadium, Pune (Capacity 5,000) | ||
| Best Performance | 2012 – Runners-up | ||
| Top Scorer |
Gurpreet Singh (12 goals) | ||
| Owner | Sai Grace Sports & Events Pvt. Ltd. | ||
| Official Website |
Official Website Official Facebook Page | ||
| |||
Pune Strykers (abbreviated as PS) is an Indian professional hockey team based in Pune, Maharashtra that plays in the World Series Hockey. Currently, Canadian Ken Pereira is the captain of the team and is coached by Gundeep Singh. The team is owned by Sai Grace Sports & Events Private Limited.[1] PCMC Hockey Stadium in Pune is the home ground of Pune Strykers.[2]
Pune Strykers ended up as the runner-up of the inaugural edition of World Series Hockey. They lost to Sher-e-Punjab by 5 goals to 2 in the final.[3] Team's penalty corner expert Gurpreet Singh is the top-scorer for the team with 12 goals.[4]
History
2012 season
Pune Strykers suffered a major set back when they lost their captain and ace drag-flicker Diwakar Ram to a wrist injury just before the commencement of the tournament.[5] Pune Strykers started their campaign with a victory over Mumbai Marines in a see-saw battle at Mahindra Hockey Stadium in Mumbai by 7–5.[6] They continued with a victory over Delhi Wizards but drew next three matches. Their undefeated run came to an end when they lost to Chandigarh Comets 3–1.[7] They only managed to win two of their next six matches. With almost knocked out of the tournament they defeated table-toppers Sher-e-Punjab and Bhopal Badshahs in their final two matches. A defeat to Chennai Cheetahs by Mumbai Marines gave them their semi-final berth.
Finishing number fourth on the table, they faced the first positioned team in the league phase, Chandigarh Comets, in the second semi-final.[8] Down by 4–1, they struck thrice in the final 10 minutes to extend the match into the penalty shoot-out which they won by 3–2 and entered the final to face Sher-e-Punjab.[9] They were dominated in the final and suffered 5–2 defeat and hence ended up at number 2 position.[10]
Pune Strykers staged some of the brilliant comebacks in WSH 2012 due to the likes of Mario Almada and were often referred to as Masters of Comeback, the first of which came against Mumbai Marines in their opening match in which they won by 7–5 despite of trailing by 5–3. They managed to draw with Sher-e-Punjab (3–3) from 3–1. In a must win situation, they lagged behind Bhopal Badshahs by 4 goals to 1 but ended up winning by 5–4. But the greatest of all comebacks came in the semi-final against the Comets where Strykers trailed 4-1 for the majority of the regulation time and then 0-2 in the penalty-shootout but made a dramatic comeback, winning 3–2 in penalty shoot-outs after finishing 4–4 after the 70 minutes.[9]
Franchisee Details
Ownership
Sai Grace Sports and Events Private Limited (SGSEPL) is the owner of the Pune franchise. The director of SGSEPL, Manoj Choudhary is the promoter of Jewel Products, one of India’s leading corporate gifting and innovation companies.[11]
Team Anthem
Pune Strykers anthem is sung by Shankar Mahadevan. The lyrics are written by Mahesh Sutar and the music is composed by Nishat Chandra. The Universal Music Group is the music partner of the team.
Sponsors and Partners
The team is partnered by Gold's Gym for fitness and Café Coffee Day for on-ground hospitality. Radio City is their official Radio partner.[12]
Administration
- Owners - Manoj Choudhary (Sai Grace Sports & Events Pvt. Ltd.)
- CEO - Jagdeep Nanjappa
- Manager - Mervyn Fernandis
- Trainer - Simon Pachal
- Video Analyst - Major (rtd). K.R. Singh
- Physio - Meetu Mangalvedkar
- Coach - Gundeep Singh
- Assistant Coach - Rahul Singh
Team Composition
The team is led by Canadian Ken Pereira and coached by Gundeep Singh.[13]
| Player | Nationality | Matches | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal Keepers | |||
| Gurpreet Singh Guri | India |
16 | - |
| Sunny Samuel | India |
11 | - |
| Strikers | |||
| Alden D’Souza | India |
7 | |
| Amol Baban Bhosale | India |
||
| Bikash Toppo | India |
16 | 5 |
| Birendra Lakra Sr. | India |
16 | 1 |
| Damandeep Singh | India |
16 | 3 |
| Gurvinder Singh Chandi | India |
||
| Kangujam Chinglensana Singh | India |
||
| Mario Almada |  Argentina |
16 | 6 |
| Nikkin Thimmaiah C.A. | India |
14 | 4 |
| Poonacha M.G. | India |
||
| Roshan Minz | India |
16 | 3 |
| Mid Fielders | |||
| Alvin Alexander | India |
||
| Amardeep Ekka | India |
3 | |
| Amit Gowda | India |
16 | |
| Lungile Tsolekile |  South Africa |
16 | 1 |
| Rajwinder Singh | India |
7 | |
| Tyron Pereira | India |
16 | 2 |
| Varinderjit Singh | India |
7 | |
| Vikas Pillay | India |
12 | 2 |
| Vikram Ramkaval Yadav | India |
11 | 1 |
| Defenders | |||
| Diwakar Ram | India |
||
| Gurpreet Singh | India |
16 | 12 |
| Ken Pereira (Captain) | Canada |
16 | |
| Kuldip Singh | India |
7 | |
| Simrandeep Singh Randhawa | India |
15 | 7 |
| Sunil Yadav | India |
9 | |
| Vinod Gopi Nair | India |
9 | |
Fixtures and Results
2012
| Goals For | 47 (2.94 per match) |
| Goals Against | 51 (3.19 per match) |
| Most Goals | Gurpreet Singh (12 goals) Overall Position: 4th |
| No. | Date | Score | Opponent | Venue | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 March | 7 - 5 | Mumbai Marines | Mumbai | Match 3 |
| 2 | 3 March | 3 - 1 | Delhi Wizards | Delhi | Match 8 |
| 3 | 4 March | 3 - 3 | Sher-e-Punjab | Jalandhar | Match 9 |
| 4 | 7 March | 1 - 1 | Bhopal Badshahs | Pune | Match 16 |
| 5 | 9 March | 3 - 3 | Chennai Cheetahs | Chennai | Match 19 |
| 6 | 11 March | 1 - 3 | Chandigarh Comets | Pune | Match 23 |
| 7 | 12 March | 3 - 2 | Karnataka Lions | Pune | Match 25 |
| 8 | 15 March | 1 - 3 | Chennai Cheetahs | Pune | Match 29 |
| 9 | 19 March | 3 - 4 | Chandigarh Comets | Chandigarh | Match 35 |
| 10 | 21 March | 2 - 3 | Karnataka Lions | Bangalore | Match 40 |
| 11 | 23 March | 4 - 2 | Mumbai Marines | Pune | Match 41 |
| 12 | 26 March | 2 - 6 | Delhi Wizards | Pune | Match 48 |
| 13 | 27 March | 3 - 2 | Sher-e-Punjab | Pune | Match 49 |
| 14 | 29 March | 5 - 4 | Bhopal Badshahs | Bhopal | Match 54 |
| 15 | 1 April | 3 - 2 (PS) 4 - 4 (FT) | Chandigarh Comets | Mumbai | Semi-final 2 |
| 16 | 2 April | 2 - 5 | Sher-e-Punjab | Mumbai | Final |
| Position in League Phase: 4th Runners-up | |||||
Statistics
| Season | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 43.75% |
| Home | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 42.86% |
| Away | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 44.44% |
| Overall | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 43.75% |
| Goals For | 47 (2.94 per match) |
| Goals Against | 51 (3.19 per match) |
| Most Goals | Gurpreet Singh (12 goals) Current Position: 4th |
| Opposition | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhopal Badshahs | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 50.00% |
| Chandigarh Comets | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 33.33% |
| Chennai Cheetahs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0.00% |
| Delhi Wizards | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 50.00% |
| Karnataka Lions | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 50.00% |
| Mumbai Marines | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 100.00% |
| Sher-e-Punjab | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 33.33% |
Hat-tricks
| No. | Player | Opposition | Result | Season | Venue | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gurpreet Singh4 |
Mumbai Marines | 7 – 5 | 2012 | Mumbai – Mahindra Hockey Stadium | 1 March 2012 |
| 2 | Simrandeep Singh Randhawa |
Bhopal Badshahs | 5 – 4 | 2012 | Bhopal – Aishbagh Stadium | 29 March 2012 |
- 4 Player scored 4 goals
References
- ↑ "WSH unveils Pune franchise, names it Pune Strykers". Indian Express. November 25, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Pune Strykers". The Fans of Hockey. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Sher-E-Punjab crowned WSH champions". ESPN. April 3, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Top Scorers". World Series Hockey. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Gupreet stars for Pune Strykers in a rousing start in Bridgestone WSH". The Times of India. February 29, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Gupreet stars for Pune Strykers in a rousing start in Bridgestone WSH". The Fans of Hockey. March 3, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Comets shine bright, eclipses Strykers 3-1". The Fans of Hockey. March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Pune Strykers hope to shoot down Chandigarh Comets". The Times of India. April 1, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- 1 2 "Masters of comebacks produce yet another miracle". The Fans of Hockey. April 2, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Sher-e-Punjab: The Champions of 1st Bridgestone World Series Hockey". The Fans of Hockey. April 3, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ "WSH unveils Pune franchise, names it Pune Strykers". The Times of India. 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- 1 2 "Pune Strykers Profile". Pune Strykers. 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Pune Strykers". World Series Hockey. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ↑ "Pune Strykers". World Series Hockey. 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ↑ "PCMC Hockey Stadium". World Series Hockey. 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
See also
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