2009: I am aiming at the next Jr World Cup: Bansal

People would have hardly noticed about a tournament, which was played at Myanmar,that just happened and became a history.

We are talking about the Men’s Under-18 Asia Cup. Yes the same U-18 team, which was in the lights for the sad reason of overage, stood fifth in the said tournament.

Although India was the defending champions, still it could not even make into the last four. To know about the reason and the more details of the tournament, S2H talked to the coach of this team, Ajay Kumar Bansal.

Bansal holds a good record as far as defending the titles is concerned. But U-18 Asia Cup came as an exception. This team was new and young and just came out of the overage controversy.

“I told S2H even before the tournament not to expect too much from this one as this team is a fresh one. The boys are playing together for the first time. Also, this was the first international tournament they were playing. So it was more of a learning experience for the youngsters” says Bansal.

Another thing that might have worked against India, was the pooling. India shared its pool with the likes of Pakistan and Malaysia, the two teams which subsequently played the final.

“Yes it was a little tough on us, playing against two of the strongest sides of the tournament. But I take that very positively because we lost both the matches by just one goal, and it’s good for the teenagers as well as they played the Asian giants in the very begninig of their career” tells the confident coach.

Well, India lost its first match to Malaysia 2-3. Amit Rohidas converted a penalty corner while Gurjant Singh scored a field goal.

In the next one, arch rival Pakistan beat India 4-3. Orriya guy Amit Rohidas converted the PCs twice in this match while the Haryana-boy Naveen Sangwan scored off a penalty corner rebound.

Bansal was filled with excitement while talking about the match against Pakistan. ” Oh it was a great match. Though we lost it, but everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. It was like a typical India-Pak match, full of excitement and passion and everyone said that the two teams played as if it was the final” Bansal says with great passion.

“Whenever and whereever India plays Pakistan in any game and at any level, the match is bound to be interesting. But the best thing about our match was that there was passion, but not the tension. It was played with very positive spirit” he adds.

India’s first victory came against Sri Lanka. India won 6-0. Find of the tournament, Amit Rohidas, as Bansal describes him, scored a hat-trick. Naveen Sangwan, maybe the new penalty corner ‘rebound-specialist’ scored twice in the same fashion, while the skipper Manpreet Singh, one out of nine Punjabis in the team, scored the sixth goal.

“I am really very impressed with Rohidas’s game. He is young and superbly talented and I can see that this guy has a great future ahead. He has all the potential and zeal to make it to the highest level” reveals the coach, who had, once upon a time, coached the likes of Dilip Tirkey, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabodh Tirkey and many more current and former internationals.

Rohidas’s effort saw India in the match for the 5th position, that was played against the land of the tigers, as ‘Singapore’ means in Tamil. Full-back Amit Rohidas was a star in this match too. Two penalty corner conversions from his, and goal each from the mid-fielder Devinder Valmiki nad Talwinder Singh made it 4-1 at the final whistle.

“Devinder Valmiki, captain Manpreet Singh and of course Amit Rohidas are a few of those guys whom I can term as the guys with real talent. Had we got enough time for the practice, outcome of this tournament would have been different” says Bansal.

Plenty of precious time was lost because of the overage issue and then the new trials and camp. “Even during the camp with the ‘real U1-8’ guys, we had some issues. But for four-five guys, no one had a passport. So each boy took almost four-five days to get their passports made which also resulted in loss of time” explains Bansal.

“And to add to it, were the conditions in the host country. Their practice and the main turf were not up to the mark as the ball was bouncing very awkwardly. But I would like to congratulate and thank to Myanmar as they took an initiative and organized this tournament even though Myanmar is not a famous name in the hockey fraternity” Bansal said very cheerfully.

“Also, I feel it wasn’t bad to lose time because of overage controversy. I am very glad that we had a purely U-18 team. Defeat in one tournament doesn’t matter too much if we look at the larger picture” Bansal says with a vision.

“I am aiming at the future. We have actual U-18 boys who can play for a long time for the country. My aim with this team is the next Junior World Cup and if we get proper practice, this team has in it to make it big in the future” Bansal says with confidence.

“You see, a team that played an international tournament for the first time, played against the toughest opponents, and conditions which were made worse by the withdrawal of a few teams like Thailand, lost two matches by one goal and still stood 5th, should be given some respect and time”

“I have requested Hockey India to organize a few international tournaments in India and abroad. They are also taking keen interest in such developmental processes as to make our national game’s future better, we need to concentrate upon the junior-most level” he concludes.