New Delhi

Indian hockey has experi enced the worst in recent past and from here it can go only upwards, according to new coach of the men’s team M K Kaushik. His com ments on improving the state of hockey:

1. The morale of everyone in volved with Indian hockey is low and reckons his first job would be to lift that.

2. Whatever happened in last few months is regretful, especially after India failed to qualify for the Olympic for the first time in 80 years. What followed was a blame game but it hardly helped.

3. Work together to lift the morale of the players and coach alone can not do much.

4. The Olympian will continue till the 2010 Asian Games and insists on having a long-term plan.

5. Firstly, players will have to go through a fitness test, after which we will make a pool of players and select the national team from there. Besides, we have to keep in mind the three major tourney in 2010 (Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Cup).

6. A proper domestic calendar, like cricket.

7. Performance, and not age, would be the criterion.

8. Form, fitness and performance will be the key. If a player fits the bill on these accounts, nobody can stop him from making to the national team. But one has to maintain consistancy for sure.