(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Pakistani Olympian Mohammed Zubair and India international Nitin Thimmaiah are among the notable recruits from abroad who will feature in the 2012 His Majesty's Cup hockey tournament that begins on Wednesday.Zubair, who represented his country as a forward in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will turn up for Salalah-based and four-time winner Al Nasr.Nitin Thimmaiah, also a forward, will play for defending champion Ahli-Sidab for the second time in a row.Speaking to Muscat Daily after a training session at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Monday night, Zubair said, This is my first visit to Oman. I am looking forward to a good competition.Zubair, 27, joins defender Kashif Ali and goalkeeper Shakir Munir - both from Pakistan - in the Nasr line-up. Ali played for Ahli-Sidab last season while Munir has won four HM's Cup titles since joining the club in 2006.After his HM's Cup campaign, Zubair will travel to India, where he will play for Chennai Cheetahs in the World Hockey Series (WHS) that is slated to begin in December.Besides Nitin, Ahli-Sidab has roped in a couple of Indian players - midfielder Nikkin Thimmaiah, a member of WHS side Pune Strykers, and his compatriot Darshan Dalavai, a drag-flicker with Sports Authority of India.Sohar Club has also strengthened its line-up with the inclusion of India juniors duo - Sudhir Dixit (keeper) and Nitin Kumar (forward). Both play for Mumbai Port Trust team in India.Sohar's third foreign player, Pakistani drag-flicker Zia-ur-Rahman, will play for the second successive season.Dixit, 22, said, Nitin [Kumar] and I are eagerly waiting for this competition to begin. We are thankful to the team's coach [Hamood al Wahaibi] and our fellow Omani players for helping us settle down here. We had a few good training sessions in Sohar before coming to Muscat.Dixit is part of WHS side Mumbai Marines while Kumar plays for Karnataka Lions.Meanwhile, Muscat and Bausher clubs are in talks with Indian, Pakistani and Egyptian players for the tournament.
