Saturday February 16, 2013

Dangerous: This is my last chance to show my capabilities

KUALA LUMPUR: Dangerous Lee knows that the two-week playing tour of Bangalore, India, will be his last chance saloon.

The forward, who quit the Project 2013 hockey squad three times in three years before deciding to make a return last month, is among the 18 players named for the tour, which begins tomorrow.

And coach K. Dharmaraj said as much when he stated: “I want to assess him and see how he performs in the eight friendly matches against Indian clubs in Bangalore. If he plays well, he’ll be considered for the Junior World Cup in Chandigarh, India, in December (5-16).”

The Project squad will play three matches against the Indian Oil Corporation and two against the Indian Army. Their remaining matches will be against clubs featuring in the Bangalore Super League.

Lee first withdrew from the team in 2010 after featuring in the Surjit Singh Memorial Cup in India. He felt that he didn’t stand a chance of being selected.

In 2011, the former Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) player decided to play for the team again and Dharmaraj took him back, only for him to pull the same trick again early last year – this time citing his pre-university studies in BJSS.

Lee then wrote to Dharmaraj last October asking to be given a third chance, and the coach obliged.

Lee then played in the All India Ubaidullah Khan Gold Cup in Bhopal last December before dropping his third bombshell last month – via a text message to Dharmaraj.

Now that he’s been given a last chance, the 21-year-old Lee said he was glad that Dharmaraj still had faith in him “although I have let him down so many times”.

“The tour is a lifeline for me to win a place in the Junior World Cup and I’ll give my best to impress coach Dharmaraj,” said Lee.

“The tour is my last chance to show my true capabilities ... I will not let coach Dharmaraj down again.”

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