Indian hockey adopts European formula
By Tushar Dut
Reduce goalkeepers and increase bench strength seems to be the mantra of the Indian hockey team for the Commonwealth Games. The team, which was announced on Monday, has only one goalkeeper — Bharat Chetri — as the officials want to go the European way.
“Most of the time we face problems during substitution. In a team of 16, if we get one man extra, it solves the problem,” said national coach Harendra Singh.
But what if the goalkeeper gets injured? “That risk will be there, but we can’t do anything if we don’t take risks. We have not seen any keeper getting injured in the past, but considering that situation, we are training Vikram Pillay to take the charge. In the 30 odd days left for the Games, we will give him enough practice to keep the goal,” Harendra said adding, “Many European countries have been practicing the same for many years.”
When asked who had suggested this change, Harendra said, “It was mine and chief coach Jose Brasa’s idea.”
Skipper Rajpal Singh seconded Harendra. “It might be new for us, but it has been practiced by many countries. It will help us in increasing our bench strength,” he said.
Former India goalkeeper Baljit Singh also welcomed the decision saying it is a progressive move. “I think this way we can utilise all the players well by rotating them with every match. With two goalkeepers, it becomes difficult to rotate players. I feel we should welcome this change as this is a futuristic approach,” he said.
Talking about the risk, selector Ajitpal Singh said, “It is believed that the keepers are guarded well and have a little chance to get injured compared to the players in the middle. So there is minimal chance of the keeper needing a substitute.”
(Inputs by Joe Williams)
The squad:
Men
Forwards: Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandker, Shivendra Singh, Dharamvir Singh
Midfielders: Arjun Halappa, Vikram Pillay, Ravi Pal, Bharat Chikara, Danish Mujtaba and Sarvanjit Singh
Defenders: Sardar Singh, Sandeep Singh, Dhananjay Mahadik, Gurbaj Singh and Prabodh Tirkey
Goalkeeper: Bharat Chetri
Women
Defenders: Binita Toppo, Subhadra Pradhan, Joydeep Kaur
Midfielders: Asunta Lakra, Kirandeep Kaur, Mukta Prava Barla, Deepika Thakur, Ritu Rani
Forwards: Surinder Kaur (captain), Saba Anjum, Rani Rampal, Jasjeet Kaur Handa, Thokcham Chanchan Devi, Poonam Rani Goalkeepers: Dipika Murty, Etimarpu Rajani