Hockey India congratulates Anand on being promoted to Outdoor Umpire & FIH International Panel

New Delhi, 25 March 2019: Hockey India on Monday congratulated Umpire Anand on being promoted to Outdoor Umpire- FIH International Panel. Having officiated his first International tournament in 2017 at the Sultan of Johor Cup, Anand has joined the elite list of Indian umpires who have made it to the FIH International Panel.

The Rohtak-born Anand, who used to be a former State player and later took to hockey coaching in 2011, was intrigued by umpiring after he attended a Hockey India Umpiring Seminar in 2012. “I was very interested and thought there is great scope for umpiring. I got my first stint as an umpire in 2012 during the Sub-Junior Nationals in Rohtak that year and continuously got domestic opportunities there after,” said the 32-year-old.

Anand thanks Hockey India for their endeavour in providing an opportunity for umpires from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. “Hockey India has helped us constantly improve by regularly updating with Modern Umpiring tools and resources such as presentation on Management technique. There is also Umpiring Courses conducted by Hockey India which enables us to be able to interact with International course conductors and attendees wherein we interact about umpiring and how we can constantly improve,” he added.

Hockey India’s Secretary General Rajinder Singh, congratulated the Umpire on being promoted to Outdoor- Umpire FIH International Panel. “I congratulate Anand on his achievement. It is indeed a proud moment for us at Hockey India to have so many youngsters showing keen interest in umpiring, which is extremely demanding physically with the game being played with a lot of speed over the past few years. I hope Anand continues to pursue his passion in umpiring and wish more youngsters from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities take up umpiring as a profession.”