Whistling all the way to Incheon

A seven-goal hockey thriller in which the winning goal comes in the last minute is entertainment and excitement for any umpire. That's exactly what happened when Western Railway piped Central Secretariat 4-3 in a MHAL Super League game on Tuesday. Umpire Javed Shaikh couldn't have asked for more. In less than two weeks time, Shaikh will again be the man in the middle, but only this time, he will be hoping for the best Asian countries to provide the same thrill. The 39-year-old is India's representative at the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon starting September 19 and despite being an official for the past ten years, Shaikh's excitement is just the same as his first time.

"I've officiated at the Doha Asian Games (2006), Azlan Shah, Asia Cup over the years. But you just can't stop there. You need to have the same desire that you had when you first stepped out on the field. We are no less than players," says Shaikh who whose first international tournament was an U-21 tournament in Poland in 2004.

Though Shaikh isn't allowed to officiate any match where India plays, the former Mumbai and Maharashtra player has been keeping a close eye on Sardar Singh's men and he feels this their best chance of winning gold, "The squad can use the CWG silver medal as a springboard. They have done well over their Asian counterparts in recent tournament and I see no reason why the squad can't go all the way improving from their bronze medal performance in 2010," says Shaikh who officiated at a World Cup for the first time in his ten-year-career this year in Hague earlier this year.

The Asian Games sees a change in format compared to the World Cup with the two-halves of 35 minutes being shelved for a four-quarter format of 17 minutes each. Besides the players, the change has also been welcomed by the umpires. "Indians shouldn't have a problem adapting to the format of four quarters as many of them play the Hockey India League," says Shaikh.

Like players, umpires like Shaikh too need to keep improving every game. Competition is fierce amongst their peers as well at the very top level. "We have to keep ourselves on our toes during the whole course of the match.

Our judging panel keeps a close eye on us leaving us no room for error. It is based on our performances in one tournament that leads to our selection for future competitions," says Shaikh who will count on a good show in the tournaments between Incheon and 2016 to make the cut for the Rio Olympics that year. adit.ganguly@dnaindia.net

Stopwatch: Western Railway 4 (Jaykaran 2, V Singh, A Rohidas) bt Central Secretariat 3 (K Kumar, S Ajmani, J Vessaonkar)