Hindustan Times: Modest target for Chanu in first foray into Olympics

By Shantanu Srivatsava

NEW DELHI: Newly appointed India women’s hockey team captain, Sushila Chanu, feels a top eight finish in the Rio Olympics is a realistic target for India, ranked 13th in the world.

They are grouped with Argentina, Australia, Great Britain, Japan and United States in Pool B, all ranked higher.
Chanu is optimistic about the chances. “We have a tough pool, but it all depends on how we play on a particular day. On our day, we can beat the best.”

However, India have not had ‘their day’ for most of the past three months. They lost their last three series, and eked out a solitary win over 18th ranked Canada.

“I agree the past few tours were not very good. It is natural to go through slump in form. I think we played a lot better in Darwin (4-nation). We lost to New Zealand there due to two contentious goals. Against Japan, we conceded a last-minute goal,” the 24-year-old defender said.

TACTICAL CHANGES

Chanu felt the team must come out of the habit of conceding last-minute goals. “We need to be alert till the last minute. No let-ups, no easy chances. Haar nai maanni hai (can’t concede defeat).”

“Also, we tend to concede early goals which makes us play catchup. My plan is to hold the opponent for first 10 minutes and get into a nice rhythm. If the opposition doesn’t score in the first 10 minutes, they will start getting nervous and we can mount an attack.”

Another critique of the team is its lack of physical strength vis-a-vis the Australian and European girls. This makes the team vulnerable to body blows and eventual loss of possession.

“Countries like Germany and Great Britain are quite physical. They indulge in body fight, which means they can take away balls from us and go on the offensive. To counter this, Neil (Hawgood, chief coach) has introduced a stringent gym regime. The focus is on building muscles to counter body fights.”

“The coach has also asked us to tighten our defence. We will use our elbows to keep the opponents away. The earlier coach (Mathias Ahrens) focused on developing our skills while Neil stresses more on running, gym and physical strength. He wants us to play attacking, Australian style hockey, and I think it will help us grow even after the Olympics.”

Though athletes from the Northeast bring laurels to India, they are unhappy with the mindset of people towards those from the region.

Chanu, who hails from Manipur, said: “I hope it does (change people’s attitude). I hope they see that someone from the Northeast is wearing Indian colours. A lot of people can’t tell Manipur on India’s map. To them, I want to say, ‘Please get a map and read it thoroughly.’”

India start their campaign on August 7 against Japan before taking on Great Britain (Aug 8), Australia (Aug 10), US (Aug 11) and Argentina (Aug 13).

LATE REPLACEMENT

Chanu was appointed skipper after the controversial axing of Ritu Rani, the long-term captain who had played an important role in the team qualifying for Rio.

India played in t he 1980 Moscow Olympics, but this is the first time that the women have qualified.
Ritu Rani was dropped reportedly due to indifferent form and attitude problem. Coach Neil Hawgood was reportedly unhappy that she left the camp to get engaged. Rani got engaged to Patiala-based Punjabi singer Harsh Sharma on June 12.

“I gave it my all to earn the Olympic quota for the team. Being left out at this stage is heartbreaking,” Ritu had told HT after being dropped.

“They are citing my engagement as a reason for my loss in focus. I have repeatedly said that I am fully focused on the Olympics. Don’t athletes have a personal life? It’s not as if getting engaged will suddenly change my focus,” she had said.