New Indian Express: More pros than cons in pulling out of Hockey India League

By Swaroop Swaminathan

CHENNAI: Indian hockey is in a tricky place at the moment. The feelgood factor of 2016 seems to have evaporated after a below-par start to the season. There are question marks over the heads of several players and the holy grail, World Cup, is just 15 months away. David John, India’s High-Performance Director (HPD), tasked with revamping Hockey India’s structure and taking Indian hockey forward, speaks on those issues and more in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

On World League Semifinal at London:
I wasn’t there to watch, but the performances were bad against Malaysia and Canada. We have to make sure we are consistent in every tournament. This has been a problem in the past 2-3 years. The best teams in the world win every match. If we get consistency into our play, there is every reason to believe we will be one of the teams to watch at the World Cup.

On absence of HIL from 2018 calendar:

For the seniors, they may actually be a bit refreshed heading into what’s effectively a year packed with tournaments. We have Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cup. So without HIL, the senior players might actually feel refreshed. Because they play a lot of minutes for their respective franchises. That may not be the case for the younger players, but they will have opportunities to play when the competition is back in from 2019.

On youngsters coming through:

A very young team travelled to the recent tour of Europe and I was impressed with the crop. Ten of the 16 had played in the junior World Cup, with six of those making their senior debuts. We want more young players to gain international exposure and it’s important we give them good matches if we have to consider them to play in bigger events next year. This is the perfect time to get them to play against good teams. This will give them the confidence to play bigger events. You cannot try them at the World Cup or Olympic Games. It’s at tournaments like the one against Belgium where you try them.

On withdrawing from Pro League:

I don’t think India is at a disadvantage by not playing it. It’s not a series, it’s just a match every week. I am sure there will be opportunities to play in bilateral series like the one we played in Netherlands recently. India is also a good place, geographically speaking, between Europe and Down Under. There could be opportunities to have the teams flying out to Australia or New Zealand here for a series or two.

On pace in the modern game (HI’s new mantra states speed, and not ability to play the game, is going to be the king):

More and more teams are starting to play counterattack. In olden days, there was a tendency to keep players on as long as possible. That has changed. The way modern hockey is going, you see more and more players (including the side’s most important ones) getting subbed off after 4-5 minutes. From that perspective, speed is something that is going to be very important.