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The fourth alumni newsletter from GKT Hockey Club.
Citation preview
GKT HOCKEY CLUB
ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
July 2012
Hello and welcome to the first Alumni Newsletter (in its current guise) not written by Karny. Yes,
after seven glorious years at GKT, Karny has finally decided to stop prolonging his degree and
graduated. He looks back at his time here later on in the newsletter.
Karny is just one of many players who will unfortunately be leaving us this summer. On behalf of
GKT Hockey Club, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the leavers on
completing their degrees and wish them every success in the future. Hopefully your association
with GKT Hockey won’t end and we’ll see you all in the near future. Until then, hopefully this
newsletter will make you feel like you never left.
It’s been an excellent first half of 2012 for the hockey club. All 3 teams were pushing for
promotion in their respective leagues, we dominated NAMS both on and off the pitch (reaching
the final of the plate and the cup in the process), and we had an incredible AGM.
I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to this newsletter, particularly the Old Boys. If
anyone else would like to contribute, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. But for now, sit back
and enjoy this newsletter.
Foreword
Saarth Shiralkar, Alumni Officer
A Message from
the Club Captain
Joe Keighley, Club Captain
I just wanted to start off by saying a massive thank you to
everyone at GKT Hockey Club for what, in my completely
unbiased opinion, has been one of the best years this club
has seen in recent times. Excellent work from all of the
committee, especially your 3 captains, helped this year see more integration between teams
resulting in a much better 'squad' mentality throughout the club, better training which reflected
itself with some excellent results on the pitch and socials which reached the appropriate levels of
ridiculousness. I hope that my legacy of hydration stations, fun buses and a kit which looks like it
was actually designed for men will live on for years to come.
I would like to take this opportunity also to congratulate your new committee. I'm sure we're all
in for another splendid year.
Good luck to all of you, and have a good summer. I miss you already and look forward to seeing
you all again at Fresher's Trials in the new year.
Love to you all.
UH Season Review
Jason Gupta, Fixtures Secretary
This season’s annual United Hospitals Tournament was held once again at our fortress, Honor
Oak Park. The competition pits the five 1st
XI medical teams in London against each other in a
round robin format held over two weekends in late March. After securing BUCS promotion and
reaching the semi finals of the ULU Cup, GKT were in for a great shout to add more silverware to
the trophy cabinet.
GKT opened the tournament with a difficult fixture against RUMS. Having lost the initial meeting
between the sides in the ULU league, although having gone on to defeat RUMS in the ULU Cup
quarter final, GKT were full of confidence going into the fixture. With our influential skipper and
keeper Dan Cromb missing however, the task would not be easy. Unfortunately RUMS came out
on top after taking their chances, inflicting a 2-0 defeat, leaving GKT with an uphill struggle in the
competition. The grounds man’s gift of a plethora of orange juice, unclaimed from a school fun
day did manage to soothe the blow however and revitalised the team for their next match
against Bart’s. No performance enhancing drugs were in the juice as far as we’re aware.
Many a battle had been fought against Bart’s, who happened to be in the same BUCS league as
GKT, and GKT had prevailed on both occasions. This match proved to be no different. The
disappointment of losing to RUMS was forgotten as GKT won comfortably 3-0. Week 1 left GKT
with 3 points to their name.
The 2nd
week of the tournament began with a fixture against another of our BUCS counterparts,
St. George’s. Having yet to defeat them this season, GKT were determined to finally claim victory.
St. George’s keeper and skipper was in influential form however and constantly denied the GKT
attack leaving the final result goalless. GKT therefore had it all to do against the old enemy ICSM,
where only a victory would secure passage. Unfortunately the GKT attack became unstuck again
as we were unfortunate not to come away with a victory and the drawn result left GKT
eliminated from the
competition. ICSM went on to
defeat RUMS in the UH Final.
Also worth warranting a
mention is that a large
number of GKT players
represented UH in matches
against the Army Cadets, UH
Old Boys, and on the annual
Bournemouth hockey tour.
Despite torrid conditions at
times, with many matches
being played on grass, UH
advanced to the final of the
competition only to lose to a
strong Dirty Angels side.
After the successful season GKT have had and with the new strength in depth the squad now
possesses, no doubt GKT will be challenging for UH silverware once again next season, as well as
having a large contingent of players representing UH. Finally, congratulations to Theo Muth who
was elected the new UH Treasurer for the 2012-13 season.
On Wednesday 28th
April the annual 2s vs. 3s game was to take place at HOP. The sun was more
than shining, Dom was peeling like an orange, and it was the day of Macadam. Both teams
sacrificed watching the DSBs and instead battled to see who really deserved the title of GKTHC
2nd
XI.
The 3s managed to field a full team, complete with subs. The 2s, on the other hand, struggled to
field enough players. In a generous show of sportsmanship, DK allowed the 2s to borrow SJ and
Saarth for a half each. Furthermore, the 3s star right back (not Bowhay, but Rajiv) was lent to the
2s for the entire game, along with Dom. Both had good games. Traitors.
The game started ruggedly, it was scrappy and both teams struggled to get a string of passes
together. However the 2s had a fair share of pressure and it eventually told after a short corner
wasn’t cleared properly and was hit back into the D for Max Schofield to tidily clip the ball into
the top corner from five yards out.
The tide had turned and the 2s continued to press. Their team, which again couldn’t field 11 of
their own players, started to turn on the heat further and the 3s couldn’t deal with it, leading to
an eventual 2-0 deficit at half-time. There were signs of possible fortune for the 3s with our goal
scoring phenomenon, Oscar, often finding himself in half-chance areas but our usual clinical
finishing didn’t follow through.
The start of the second half saw continual grit and determination from the 3s. Apparently our
‘enthusiasm and passion’ was wrongly transferred into what the umpires decided upon as being
too rough, and captain DK was given a green card. Taking one for the team, literally.
The 3s kept working hard and putting together some nice passages of play, having subs helped
but the 2s finished clinically. A short corner not being cleared (again) found its way to Charles
William Pidgeon, and he finished it into the bottom corner.
2nd
XI vs. 3rd
XI 2012
Akshay Gulati, 3rd
XI Captain elect
Another goal came for the 2s. Scrappy play in the D and Fresher Rich somehow bundled in a
pass/shot from Dom. One that probably won’t be up for goal of the season, but they all count.
Salt was further rubbed into the wound when a hopeful ball up field from the 2s wasn’t dealt
with by Akshay who rather than hit it out decided to add his name to the scorers and pass it past
a very confused Ash into the 3s own goal.
The game finished 5-0 to the 2s. A great season for the mighty 3s could have been finished with a
cherry on top but it wasn’t quite to be.
As the Macadam Cup matches were going on whilst this match was being played, there wasn’t
really anyone around to take photos. Here are some pictures of us celebrating the Macadam
Victory instead.
AGM this year was a stormer to say the least. In spite of early setbacks all involving too many X
chromosomes, the men's treasurer and exceptionally handsome social secretary were able to
save the day and buy all of the booze last minute, which made them late for the meeting but
heroes nonetheless.
The traditional meetings were held in Boland House, though because of the tyranny of a hitherto
unknown society called MedSin, all of the meeting rooms were booked. After a significant
amount of negotiating, the girls were allowed to use an upstairs room, and the boys got Guy's
Bar. Unfortunately this did mean that there was no oversight of the gin distribution between the
two clubs (social sec from one was absent), so the women's club ended up with nine out of
fifteen litres of gin. Eventually, one bottle was wrought off them, leaving the ratio at 7.5L to 7.5L
(50/50 to those who did A Level maths), which was a lot more than was supposed to doled out to
our delicate flowers. The major problem with this for those armed with common sense, is that
boys tend to be able to handle a lot more ethanol than girls. Add to this situation that some
members of the women's club decided to pre-drink all afternoon, and that the 60 girls present
finished all of their gin before leaving the meeting — the scene was set for a disaster, which
inevitably came to fruition. The sensible boys only drank some of their gin, leaving about three
litres for communal ginnings with the girls in the Quad (further compounding the problem).
Once both clubs had finished their meetings they were summoned to Guy's Quad, where two
rugby freshers (knowing their place in the world) served us a champagne reception. Several
lovely photos were taken, as was more juniper, and we moved off to Guy's Tower.
Fed up with the Griffin, this year's Social Secretaries decided to opt for the grandeur of the
Robens Suite on the 29th floor, presuming that the more upmarket venue would lead to a
AGM 2012
Mark Alexander Shimmings, Social Secretary
meagre adjustment of behaviour. The setup was divine, planned to a T, and even Janice Rymer
was in attendance. That did nothing to prevent the following: girls vomiting on the floor before
nonchalantly resuming their meals, long arming bottles of red wine, swimming on tables, heavy
petting Deans of medicine, profanity in a speech so extreme our mic was confiscated, smearing
butter on the windows, a senior member of the girls club relieving herself in the corner, raucous
drinking games, destruction of the loos, and poor table manners.
For approximately 40 minutes (of the two hours we had booked) this behaviour was tolerated,
before a member of the men's 3rd XI fell off his chair and duly showed his appreciation for all of
the wine and food he had managed to consume by delivering it all over the carpet. Already in the
process of being kicked out, this well and truly broke the camel’s back. Despite our protestations
a member of the catering team called the on-call doctor at Guy's, who suggested we call the
crash team. This was prevented by the charms of our very own Vinesh Patel, who managed to
convince a very shocked looking lady that he was indeed a doctor and everything was going to be
ok. After the treasurer, Greg 'Godsend' Nussbaum, had used wheelchairs to physically remove
boys and girls alike from the floor of Guy's to the downstairs car park, we made our way to
Belushi's.
On arrival, we were informed that we had not actually booked the downstairs venue of Belushi’s,
and all we had done was pay our entrance fee in advance. Undeterred, and being the fun bunch
that GKT Hockey will always be, we got stuck in with the locals of Borough. At the end of the
evening a good night was had by all- ambulances we summoned, bow-ties stolen, memories
made/lost, new stories gained, and a general ban on all student groups from using GSTT venues
was added to our list of Battle Honours.
Following the debauchery of the AGM the previous night, a bright and sunny morning was
greeted with groans and desperate Googling of hangover cures. Arrivals to the pitch were
staggered and staggering, a reverse reply of the previous night’s departures from Belushi’s. None
of this however reduced anyone’s desire to play a good game of hockey.
The 1st
team were present in numbers, their youthful metabolism the envy of their alumni
opponents. The older members had arrived in pieces, lamenting their youthful ability to ‘put it
away and turn up fresh the next day’.
The game proceeded at a high pace and a surprisingly high quality. There were never more than
one or two goals in it, however the first team showed the benefits of their season long training
and success, pulling a 6-5 win out the bag. There were no winners in defence, and the fact that
the alumni, fielding a goalkeeper (me), conceded more than the students, with no goalkeeper,
was my own personal low of the day. Highlights included some truly expert finishing from Joe
Keighley, a student whose talent and skills have been discovered and nurtured entirely within the
GKT Men’s Hockey Club, and a stirring performance from Anil Ekanayake for the alumni, scoring a
goal from quite an astonishing angle, and this time in the opposition goal.
As an old boy myself, it was a real pleasure seeing the current students 1st
XI playing hockey
reminiscent of the glory days of the early Naughties. Ball possession, fast skilful wing-play and
clever finishing were all attributes of the GKT teams of old who so dominated UH Hockey. It is
refreshing to see that the current crop contains the camaraderie, attitudes and skills to bring
back the glory days.
My apologies to those not mentioned. The day was hazy at the time and hazier still now. All who
came contributed, and the President’s Cup saw the competition it deserved, a credit to all who
played.
President’s Match
2012
Tom Simpson, GKT Class of 2006
NAMS is always a tournament for the die-hard mixed hockey players and this year it was no
different. The early morning meet on Friday marked the beginning of an epic weekend through-
and-through. As we trekked up to Manchester convoy-style, led by ‘Eagle’s Nest’, we made rapid
time and, notwithstanding a short detour to pick up a taxidermy crocodile, we arrived as per: the
first and drunkest of the teams. The bar was set as we tore up the Curry Mile, leading many a
ballad at our curry meal (Shit on Mary’s!), led the way to the pub (in naught but sexy tank tops
and leopard get-ups whilst taking on the sub-zero weather), getting a bit too much to handle at
Manchester’s Student Union (indecent exposure?! Naaah!), and making a presence at the
student night.
Our strong presence was continued to be noted for the following two days as we played hard and
drank harder on and off the pitch as our teams, blood alcohol contents, and banter rose steadily
as the tournament progressed.
A sharp eye, when offered our beer bong to down her champagne bottle, observed, “You got
here first, still drunk and you’ve been drinking hard the entire day! How on earth are you doing
so well?” Little did she know that these are everyday matters for GKT mixed hockey.
NAMSchester 2012
Ashwin Kalra, Mixed Captain
A weekend of solid hockey was peppered by a variety of notable moments: freshers were
prescribed suitable measures in traditional manners (as Bloomers would attempt to recall) and
through new, exciting methods: gin-sachets (UGH!), gin-boarding (don’t ask), gin à la potted herb,
and upside-down gin to name a few. Friends were made (Megan woke up next to a lovely new
lady friend), new things were experienced (as Saarth got well acquainted with a handsome
homosexual OAP), and limits were reached (Joe, Lily...) and surpassed (how many litres of gin did
we get through? 10 in 12 hours?). Excellent work, lads and ladies.
All in all, we partied hard incredibly hard, we set an example to our Kingdom’s finest medical
schools on and off the pitch, and walked away with a tidy second place overall. Not too shabby,
GKT!
Until next year!
At the last AGM I handed over to Saarth Shiralkar and Joe Keighley the mantle of Alumni
Secretary. Little did they realise that they had to now write and edit a newsletter. Thus you will
be subjected to the demented ramblings of my mildly amusing 7-year GKT Hockey history in the
ensuing lines.
I arrived at GKT (when it was still called GKT) in 2005. I ventured to Freshers’ Trials under the
assumption that my hockey prowess would be scrutinized. Instead I was introduced to
‘snakebite’ and ‘ginnings’. I now leave GKT with a strong distaste towards them both. Hockey-
wise I managed to command a place in the 1st
XI, mostly due to the then Club Captain being a
family friend. Proof that networking gets you far.
Seven years at GKT
Hockey Club
Kaanthan Jawahar, GKT Class of 2012
The second year saw my family connections expire and following a Freshers’ Trials related ankle
injury, I found myself in the 2nd
XI. Though initially disgruntled due to my inaccurate view on my
own ability, I later grew to realise that I loved playing for the Mighty 2s. Many a year and success
were spent here, playing under some truly great leaders and finding my place as a sweeper at
GKT Hockey Club. Of particular highlight will be the penalty shootout that saw us beat Imperial to
be crowned ULU Reserve Cup Champions under Hassan Raja in 2008-2009.
However I felt I really turned a corner in the 2009-2010 season. Here I was 2nd
XI captain and we
won ULU Division 2, got to the semi-finals of the ULU Reserve Cup and finished 2nd
in BUCS
behind our 1st
XI. My personal hockey got infinitely better and I had a truly fantastic bunch of lads
in my squad. This was all a springboard to the following season where I was Club Captain and
regained my 1st
XI post. A Full Blue was the result.
Though hockey was limited in my final year to the 1st
term, I continued to be a member of the 1st
XI under one of the strongest GKT sides I have played in. It is clear that this side is going places –
they are well balanced, individually talented and function as a strong unit.
The social side to GKT Hockey Club has been an integral part of my life at GKT. Tours never cease
to impress wherever we go including, but not limited to, Liverpool, Nottingham and Belgium. The
re-introduction of NAMS has seen GKT crowned as the loudest and most hardcore medical
hockey team in the UK (and 2nd
best at hockey!) and new traditions such as T.I.T.S. and the
Flabongo add to the evolution of best sports club at GKT.
I leave now as a student, but continue to be involved as an Old Boy. GKT Old Boys’ Hockey Club
has been restarted and I look forward to playing for them in the years to come.
Well, what a season it's been for the first team. It's all been a bit of a blur, but I'll try and recall
some of the more memorable moments!
The season started off with some pre-season fitness – perhaps the most entertaining fact being
the excuses people gave for avoiding some of the fitness sessions: “I couldn't go for a run
because I couldn't find a treadmill” is a particular favourite.
Our first match was a dull friendly against Bart's, ending in a 1-1 draw, but we did manage to
persuade Charlie Ding to come and film the game which provided some amusement. The
introduction of the hydration station and half-time snacks (mainly focussed around Jelly babies)
meant that, following that slow start, we were quick to find our feet, opening our league
campaign with a 7-1 win away against QMUL – a game which was followed by a now club-wide
1st
XI Report
Dan Cromb, 1st
XI Captain
favourite, fancy pants social. Notable performances from our freshers in that game, Harry 'Rotter'
Edwards and Khush 'Forward-for-a-game' Shah, ensured team morale was high.
The wins kept coming for the first half of the season, with the exception of a 0-2 loss to our
bogey side, St. George’s. Perhaps the most notable of the wins was a 7-0 thrashing of the team
who were top of the league at the time, Essex. It was a performance that showed what hard work
on and off the pitch could do, with more debut goals for freshers coming from Alec 'Drag Flick'
Dawson and Nick 'Nicky Chang' Chang. The midfield powerhouses of Theo 'The Engine' Muth,
Fergus 'Soon-to-be-a-medic-fresher' Catmur, Jason 'The Gash-smasher' Gupta and Ryo 'まみれ
の地獄ああ ' Arimoto consistently dominated games, and the emergence of Hassan 'The Hulk'
Raja from the 2's made selection particularly difficult.
At the back, things looked tidier than ever, with training sessions on transferring balls paying
dividends. We looked comfortable on the ball, and the aerial threat from Alec, Khush and Jay
added an extra-dimension to our game. I feel a special mention should go to Jay 'Too-unfit-for-
midfield' Pachchigar, who switched to the role of centre back from last year’s position of midfield
dynamo with ease and without complaining, and certainly played a vital role in controlling
opposition forwards. With Sachin 'He's-such-a-charmer-ohhhhhh-no' Sharma assuming his usual
position of best right back in the league, my selection headaches continued as Matt 'Vintage'
Hope, Greg 'Bloody Knees' Nussbaum and Karny 'Did-you-know-his-photo-is-on-the-side-of-the-
Strand' Jawahar battled for the left back position. Not that the forwards made things any easier
for me, regularly putting in solid performances, and scoring consistently and looking threatening
in every game. However, it was again a demonstration of how far we've come from the team that
got relegated two seasons on the trot that we had a large squad to pick from, any of whom
would have deserved a regular starting place in any of the teams in our league.
We went into the Christmas break high in spirits, top of the league (you're havin' a laugh!) and,
notably, without having received a single card (red, yellow, or green), in any of the games we had
played. Discipline was on the up.
The second half of the season started off slowly again as people looked to rid themselves of the
turkey and puddings, but wins were still the common result. We beat IC 1's 4-1 in our first win of
the ULU Premier League campaign, and smashed QMUL 8-0 again, this time seeing yet more
goals from a fresher, with Jonny 'Marathon Man' Gabriel giving a master class in finishing in the
'D' and bagging himself a hat-trick on his debut. Joe 'Headband' Keighley also made further
contributions for goal of the season, and proved last year’s top goal scorer award wasn't a fluke.
In March, we went to ICSM for the 235th time in two years, to play a game we needed to win in
order to avoid relegation from the ULU Premier League. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, as we
went down by a solitary goal – a definite low point of the season for me, but one I'm sure we will
recover from next year. However, we managed to progress to the semi-finals of the ULU Cup,
only narrowly losing out to UCL to prevent a clash of the titans final against KCL. We also missed
out on the final of the UH Cup by one goal, which was frustrating, but the number of fixtures we
had to play in the last few weeks were beginning to show.
With so many 'so near but yet so far' moments, it was beginning to look like, despite having our
strongest season hockey-wise for many a year, we would come away without any silverware. Our
final BUCS game of the season saw us travel to Essex, knowing only a win would be enough to
gain promotion. A spirited performance saw us score with five minutes to go to set up jubilant
scenes at the final whistle and a barely memorable minibus journey home.
We were unfortunate to lose our final game of the year against KCL in the Macadam Cup, but it
was another spirited performance that could have gone either way.
It's been a brilliant season off the pitch too, with the social antics of the first team being barely
unrecognisable from the hermits of a few years ago. A solid showing of naked Butler's at the
Christmas dinner went down well with the women's team, particularly that little DSB, Nikita. We
regularly dominated McDonald’s and Guy's Bar like a bullfighter dominates a bull, and I've seen
sides of people in the team that would make the public think twice about allowing them near
them as doctors (or dentists...booooo). Thanks for the memories (or lack thereof!).
I certainly don't think I could have predicted how much work it would have involved and how
much time it would take up, but overall, it's been a fantastic year to be playing for GKT HC Men's
1's, an honour to be captain of such an all-round successful team and I'd like to take this
opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts and making my life so easy at times. I want to
extend particular thanks to my vice-captain, Sachin, who has been fantastic every step of the way
this year, going above and beyond the scope of his responsibilities, taking coaching sessions,
organising umpires and generally being an all round good egg.
This season, the ever handsome 2nd
XI took to the field with a relatively new look team, following
the loss of a number of players to elderly life or the 1st
team abyss. The team began in strong
fashion, flattening KCL 4-0 in an opening un-friendly. An unfortunate 2-1 loss to Canterbury
provided the only disappointment in the first half of the season, in which a hitherto unseen brand
of astonishingly attractive hockey led the team to the top of the BUCS league.
The team also maintained their standing as the pre-eminent social team of the club. Strongbow
challenges, four pint challenges and a general charismatic social grace were well received by the
Guy’s Bar masses each week. Christmas Dinner brought the opportunity to exhibit a bit of
culture, which the team provided by donning Lederhosen and not being racist.
The second half of the season brought a number of difficult away games. Following a series of
uncharacteristic draws, the 2nd
XI found themselves in 2nd
place of the BUCS league with one
game remaining. What followed was a nail-biting 1-0 victory over Kent. Celebrations were cut
short, however, as KCL had managed to win their match, thus denying GKT’s promotion. Sorrows
2nd
XI Report
Alex Chowdhury, 2nd
XI Captain
were boozily drowned on a long coach trip back to London, driven by one of the most
homophobic men that the team had encountered this year.
In the matter of awards, votes were tight and many were deserving. Fresher Rich picked up the
player of the season award, following numerous heroic midfield performances. Mark Shimmings
picked up the most improved award, as he had improved the most. Charles Pidgeon picked up
the award for Tosser for numerous indiscretions, including being slapped by a comedian for being
annoying.
All in all, the season was a relative success. A lot of new faces got to know each other and the
hockey was scintillating at times. Heads were held high, as the team had fought for promotion
until the final day, no mean feat in itself. Next season holds much promise (as long as we can
forget about this ‘squad fluidity’ nonsense) with Fresher Rich and Faisal at the helm. I’ve very
much enjoyed the year and wish to say thank you to the whole team.
P.S. I can’t really remember what happened in ULU or the cup.
Having had the honour of being voted captain bestowed on me by the team, I entered this
season with high hopes looking to build on last season’s young but growing team. We ended last
season with very few wins, but the match experience gained of playing together as a team was
instrumental to this season’s success. I must say, I felt no pressure in improving on last season’s
record as my predecessor, Saarth Shiralkar, didn’t leave very big shoes to fill.
We started our first 2 games with heavy defeats, seeing us lose 6-0 to Greenwich and a
disheartening 10-0 defeat against Bart’s. Despite my efforts of informing the team that
Greenwich were a new team and thus had to start in our league, and that we were unlucky to be
drawn against Barts 1st
team in the first stage of the BUCS Cup, spirits were low.
However, thanks to our ‘never say die’ attitude, we played our hearts out at the next match and
we were suitably rewarded with an 8-0 victory over the polytechnic they call the University of the
Arts. With fine art work from their hockey sticks, our very own fresher Oscar Barnick and Dom
Aldridge managed to score a hat-trick each. Overall it was a fine performance by the mighty 3’s,
comparable to Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
3rd
XI Report
Dheeraj Khiatani, 3rd
XI Captain
Having tasted the sweet, sweet nectar of victory, GKTHC 3rd
XI went on to play a further 5
matches without any losses (3 wins, a draw and a walkover). We beat Imperial 4s 5-0, with
Summet ‘Bengal Tiger’ Oberai scoring 2 goals and our former Charles ‘Napoleon’ Pidgeon scoring
a goal himself. We also beat Imperial Medics 3rd
XI 2-0. One of the games was a friendly against
the DSB’s who play for the women’s GKT 1st
team, but it still counts.
Our winning streak ended with a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Bart’s 2nd
XI in the BUCS League.
However, yet again we kept our heads high and went on to defeat RUMS 3-0, with myself scoring
my first ever goal in a competitive match. Confidence levels were high once again, and we all
went to Guys bar looking to ‘score’ off the pitch as well. Our lovable Saarth ‘Angry-all-the-time’
Shiralkar actually slotted one into the back of the net… (ball girl).
We then faced ICSM 3s (Shit on Mary’s!) once again, in a ULU promotion decider. Having beaten
them previously, we went to the game confident, and possibly even too complacent.
Unfortunately, we were unable to repeat our previous success, and lost to them 3-0. Without
making any excuses (I’m not that sort of person), they had a few ringers in their team and the
water sprinklers came on halfway through the match soaking our defensive line up and goal
keeper, thus tipping the balance of power in their favour.
To end the season, we travelled to RHUL 2nd
XI to play them in a ULU cup game, but
unfortunately lost to them on penalty flicks. Again, without making any excuses, the game was
called off early due to the lack of floodlights, and we were forced to go to penalty flicks.
However, our spirits weren’t dampened as we travelled back to Guys Bar on the team’s very first
fun bus, getting suitably drunk on board. The highlight of the trip back would have to be Capital
FM dedicating Avicii’s ‘Levels’ to us as we approached the iconic squirrel that is Guy’s Hospital to
mark the end of a very successful season.
I have thoroughly enjoyed captaining this team and given the chance, I would do it all over again.
I would like to say a big, big thank you to my vice-captain, Hannes ‘Ikea’ Hagson. Without his
‘inspirational’ words and dedication we would not have finished the season on such a high. I
would like to also take this opportunity to thank the boys of the mighty 3’s, who are my friends
first and my team-mates second. Good luck to Akshay Gulati and Maninderpal Matharu, the
future captain and vice-captain of the fine men at GKT HC 3rd
XI. This time round, you do have big
shoes to fill, because Hannes and I have huge feet ;-)!
Full Blues
Nominees should have played their sport at
1st team level AND ABOVE (county teams
etc) for at least 3 years and held committee
positions for at least two years; for at least
one of those years they should have been on
the core committee (i.e. Club Captain/1st
team captain). Blues are awarded on the
discretion of the Blues & Shields Committee,
formed of senior members of staff from the
Medical School.
Daniel Cromb
Half Blues
The criteria are not as strict as for
full blues but in general; three years playing
at a reasonably high standard plus one or
two years on committee OR five/six years
playing at a reasonably high standard.
Shin Woo Kim
Leavers 2012
Kaanthan Jawahar
Hugo Penny
Roy Wheeler
Callum Baxter
Harry Edwards
Jay Pachchigar
Jaime Farr
Matthew Francis
Shin Woo Kim
Henry Eynon-Lewis
Man of the Year
Daniel Cromb
Fresher of the Year
Oscar Barnick
1st
XI Awards
Player of the Year: Jason Gupta
Most Improved Player: Greg Nussbaum
Fresher of the Year: Khush Shah
2nd
XI Awards
Player of the Year: Richard White
Most Improved Player: Mark Shimmings
3rd
XI Awards
Player of the Year: Akshay Gulati
Most Improved Player: Bhavesh Patel
Fresher of the Year: Tom Keeley
Golden Stick: Oscar Barnick
Honours List for the
2011/12 Season
Contact Information
Club Email
Club Website
http://kclmshockey.wordpress.com
Club Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/GKTHockey
Club Twitter Page
https://twitter.com/gkthockey
Men’s Committee 2012/13
Club Captain: Theo Muth
1st
XI Captain: Jason Gupta
1st
XI Vice-Captain: Ryoki Arimoto
2nd
XI Captain: Richard White
2nd
XI Vice-Captain: Faisal Karim
3rd
XI Captain: Akshay Gulati
3rd
XI Vice-Captain: Maninderpal Matharu
Mixed Captain: Fergus Catmur
Treasurer: Dom Aldridge
Social Secretaries: Dheeraj Khiatani & Rich Cameron
Alumni Officers: Saarth Shiralkar & Joe Keighley
Fixtures Secretary: Ashwin Kalra
Informations Secretary: Hannes Hagson
So that’s all folks, the end of another alumni newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you again
to everyone who contributed.
The summer is always a difficult time. There’s no hockey, Wednesday nights don’t involve Guy’s
Bar, and we have to say goodbye to many friends and team mates. But that, as Elton John once
sang, is the circle of life. I hope that reading this newsletter brought back fond memories of your
own time at GKT Hockey Club. If you ever feel like contributing please don’t hesitate to get in
touch. If you know of any alumni whose details we don’t have, please do pass this on to them.
The previous season has been excellent and next season is shaping up to be even better. Hope-
fully all three teams will continue to push on and build on this season’s successes, and we expect
the pavilion at Honor Oak Park to finally be built.
Until next time!
Epilogue
Saarth Shiralkar, Alumni Officer