Bengaluru: Women focus on rehabilitation

Bengaluru
Sept. 22: Amidst the controversy around the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, the probables started their second camp at the Sports Authority of India, South Centre on Monday.

With chief coach M.K Kaushik, who did a volte-face after being appointed as the men’s coach and then deciding to stay put with the women’s team, expected to join the camp on Wednesday, the girls were put through the paces by coach Vasu Thapliyal.
As of Monday, 24 of the 43 short-listed players had reported for the camp and the rest are expected to join over the next couple of days.

With a hectic schedule ahead including the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games over the next two years, these players are a part of the Long Term Development Programme initiated by the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation.

The highlight of the camp is the rehabilitation programme for five key players — midfielder Asunta Lakra, goalkeepers Marita Tirkey, Poonam Toppo and Jaspreet Kaur and forward Rajwinder Kaur — who are nursing various injuries.

“The injured players were asked to report to the camp so that they can recover under the supervision of SAI doctors. In this way their recovery is faster and we can keep a tab on their progress. As of now, most of them are 70 percent fit,” said Thapliyal.
The emphasis of the camp will be on penalty corners, penalty strokes, drag-flicks and goalkeeping.

“Since drag-flicking is an integral part of hockey these days, we are training Balraj Kaur and Manorama Devi in them,” Thapliyal said.
After another camp next month, the girls are expected to play test matches in Europe, the itinerary for which is yet to be decided.

The first camp which was held last month was attended by 24 players. The current month-long camp will be followed by a 20-day break, after which the players will regroup at SAI, for another one-month camp