MUMBAI, June 20: It's not very often that a tall, strapping junior player in the city takes the hockey pitch.

At six feet tall, Romeo Albuquerque will carry the hopes of the Bombay team in the Junior National Championships at New Delhi after being named skipper, yesterday.

Albuquerque has shown great spirit and determination in overcoming a finger injury. Sustaining the blow in Bangalore while training as a probable for the Junior World Cup, Albuquerque has rebuilt confidence with gradual practice over the last two months.

``I was intitially worried of aggravating the injury, but Dr Nicholas Anton, who operated on my index finger, encouraged me to resume playing. Dr Cruz, at the camp, seconded his suggestion and I have been working hard on increasing shoulder power, improving reflexes and am happy to say have regained my rhythm.''

Albuquerque, is presently a hot prospect on the Indian hockey scene. A contender for a spot in the India side to the Junior World Cup in Milton Keynes, England, in September, the Air-India player will lend solidity to the defence with a wealth of experience including the Asia Cup qualifiers in Singapore last year.

And the tournament brings back bitter-sweet memories. One spell-binding moment in the semifinal against South Korea when India scored after a mere 35 seconds of play -- the move originating from Albuquerque's stick. Sorrow in the penalty shootout loss against Pakistan after dominating in a 2-2 draw.

``Singapore was my big break and it put paid to the jinx that dogged my international aspirations,'' Albuquerque recalls fondly. ``I was a member of two overseas campaigns which did not work out -- the Australian tour in 1995 and the World Youth Festival in Rawalpindi, Pakistan which came to nought because of visa problems.''

Albuquerque owes much of his career to Merzban `Bawa' Patel, noted talent scout in the city who works tirelessly with Bombay Republicans. He says: ``Bawa pushed me, cajoled me and convinced me of my potential.

``And my parents, of course,'' Albuquerque adds, almost in the same breath. ``My dad (Michael) passed away when I was at the camp for the Australian tour. My mum (Lily) did not send word to me, simply because she did not want me to return home immediately and lose a great chance to enhance my career. Yes, my parents have been ever-supportive of my hockey ambitions.''

Albuquerque's development took off with Air-India, whose busy schedule exposed him to top-class hockey regularly. Germinating with the India juniors at Bangalore in preparation for the Junior World Cup has also been a rewarding experience and Albuquerque acknowledges Olympian V Bhaskaran's role as coach.

``Along with assistant coach Ramesh Parmeshwaran, Bhaskaran has honed my skills in keeping with the nuances of modern hockey. My positional play has improved and I am more attentive to corner variations.

``Teammates as well. Dilip Tirkey, my partner in the back-line encourages me to move up and that has added variety to my game.

Albuquerque doubled up as left-half at the Lal Bahadur Shastri tournament in New Delhi in January and looks back to the event with immense satisfaction. He recalls: ``I was entrusted with the task of marking Olympian Mukesh Kumar and did so successfully. He did a great deal in boosting my confidence and self-belief.''

Learning from video recordings of matches has taught Albuquerque a thing or two about techniques and tactics. ``India's matches in last year's Panasonic Four-Nation Tournament in Germany revealed many of our shortcomings. For instance, we often fail in facing the ball as quickly as possible when a free-hit is awarded. We also fail often in halting the ball basic skills, but all-so-important.

On the brighter side, Albuquerque never tires of watching India's epic 5-5 draw against West Germany in the 1985 Perth Champions Trophy.

As a defender he has boundless admiration for penalty-corner hitman Floris Jan-Bovelander and Dutch colleague, midfield general Marc Delison. ``And our own Pargat Singh, of course. I think he has real class,'' Albuquerque adds.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.