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The Indian men’s hockey team striker Nikkin Thimmaiah expressed his excitement to share a dressing room with, who he considers to be, the world’s best forward Florian Fuchs. The Indian was bought by the Bombay-based franchise Dabang Mumbai for US $67,000 at the recently concluded Hockey India League auctions.
Due to the new rule in place, the franchises went for youth and skillful players instead of selecting veteran players to complete their squad. The new rule states, the weightage for field goals will be double compared to the goals scored from the penalty corners which means while a successfully converted short corner will still count as one goal, a field goal will be considered as 'two'.
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“I had wonderful days with Uttar Pradesh Wizards”
The 24-year-old forward expressed his delight after the auction, calling it an unexpected moment.
“The price is really unexpected and it was an emotional moment for me as it made me realise that my work is getting recognised,” the Hockey India League reported reported him as saying.
He added, “I had wonderful days with Uttar Pradesh Wizards and I am thankful to the franchisee and Coaching Staff to give me ample opportunities to showcase my talent.”
Nikkin came into limelight when he scored a hat-trick in India’s 4-2 win against the Aussies in the semi-final of the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He has been an integral part of the Indian setup since making his debut at the 2013 Asia Cup.
“Privilege to play with Fuchs”
He was delighted with the fact that he will be playing alongside, who he considers to be, the world best forward German international Florian Fuchs. The 24-year old Fuchs has won Gold at the 2012 London Olympics with the German national team and was awarded as the ‘IHF Player of the Year’ in 2012.
Nikkin elaborated, “I am very happy to see the world’s best forward Florian Fuchs of Germany in my team and privilege to play with him for the next two seasons. I am very lucky to be in the same team as Florian Fuchs, Matthew Swann, David Harte, Gurmail Singh, Danish Mujtaba and Harmanpreet Singh.”
The Bengalore-based player was also excited about the new rule in place and was curious to see of how fast the players will adapt to it.
He expressed his excitement, “I am looking forward to the upcoming season. What is the most exciting is the new regulation. It is yet to be seen who will take the most advantage of this.”
The Hockey India League will commence from early January next year.
