Times of India: Coach Marijne has infused belief in Indian team: Cedric D’Souza

Bagawati Prasad

CHENNAI: Former India coach Cedric D’Souza believes the current Indian hockey team “doesn’t have the fear psychosis” and lauded new coach Sjoerd Marijne for infusing “belief” in the young unit.

D’Souza, who is now in charge of the Austrian team, stated that the emergence of Hockey India League (HIL) has helped change the mindset of Indian players when they step into bigger events.

“The current team is doing a fantastic job in terms of being able to compete, hold their own and beat the elite nations of the world. I think a lot of credit must go the HIL. Over the last four years, the youngsters have rubbed shoulders with the elite names of the world. And there is no fear psychosis. Everybody is just the same.

“Earlier, you didn’t play those (big names) on a regular basis. When you met them at the bigger events, you felt like there was a bit of fear psychosis. The graph of Indian hockey has zoomed up,” D’Souza, who is the coach of Delhi Waveriders in HIL, told TOI on the sidelines of the launch of the SPARRC Trust – Indian Institute of Sports Medicine.

D’Souza said Marjine has done an exceptional job in laying down a process in place. “He has brought in a process where he has asked the players to be accountable for their actions. They have got the team to understand that they want to play in a certain way. Everybody is on the same platform. They are playing well as a unit,” he added.

After stating that India should go on to win the upcoming Asian Games, D’Souza hopes India can do a repeat of their 1975 World Cup gold-medal winning feat again later this year.

“In my opinion, India should win the Asian Games. I’m quite confident about it. I saw them in the Asia Cup and Hockey World League. They are a strong unit and the speed of these guys is incredible. At the moment, any team in the top 10 can beat anyone on a given day. I really hope that India does a 1975 World Cup again this year,” said D’Souza.

SPARRC-IISM inaugurated

The Sports Performance Assessment Rehabilitation Research Counseling Institute (SPARRC) – Indian Institute of Sports Medicine (IISM) was inaugurated on Saturday.

Dr Kannan Pugazhendi, founder of SPARRC, has worked with many national and international athletes over the last two decades. Kannan stated that the SPARRC-IISM is intended at bringing relief for patients with surgery-less treatments.

“Sports medicine is not only for athletes. It’s about guiding patients with the right exercise in order to relieve pain. It can be a dancer, cricketer, footballer or even an artist. We have tried to separate treatments for athletes and the rest as part of our new fitness medicine programme. I try my best not to suggest surgeries and deal muscle-related issues with exercises,” Kannan said.

Some of the treatment methods involved in SPARRC are Aqua therapy, Exercise physiology lab, Indoor running track, Fitness Adaptation and exercises for vocal issues as well.