New Indian Express: Indian hockey coach Oltmans says team needs to improve defence structure

BENGALURU: As the Indian men’s hockey team gear up for next week’s FIH Champions Trophy, chief coach Roelant Oltmans has asserted that his side need to strengthen their defence structure in order to give a fierce challenge to top-ranked teams and win a medal in the prestigious tournament.

“It is the key to a team’s success at a tournament. There are times when you can’t score too many goals to win a match but you can certainly win by avoiding the opponents to score. The Germans are known for their defence while the Australians defence is slightly unconventional compared to others and Argentina too heavily depend on their defence for good results. It helped them win Bronze at the World Cup. In our structure, the entire team needs to work on defence. Some of our attackers are good in defence too and that is our strong point,” said Oltmans, whose side will take on the Germans in the opening match in London.

The coach believes if things go as planned, the team will stand a good chance to win a medal.

“Everybody knows we are good in the knockout stage. But Champions Trophy this year will be slightly different and we need to finish top two to play the final and be top four to play for Bronze. It will be interesting to see how our players will cope to this situation and face the challenge. Our realistic expectation is to finish in the top three,” he added.

A week-long break can do a world of good to players who are put through the grind in an all-important Olympic year and that’s what has happened with the men’s hockey team who rejoined the national camp here at Sports Authority of India, South Centre on Monday.

Their final preparations ahead of the Champions Trophy began with a yo-yo test to analyse the players’ fitness levels which some of them aced. “It’s the recovery factor. I am happy some of the boys are fitter than ever before,” said Oltmans.

June will be a crucial month for the Indian team as they travel to Spain soon after the Champions Trophy in London. They return only in July and Coach is aware that some of the younger players will have to ward off the pressure of getting picked for the Olympic squad to be announced in July.