Learning hockey, the Australian way
By Mihir Vasavda | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Ever wonder why Australia are the undisputed king of world hockey? One of the reasons is their technological expertise that has revolutionalised the sport.
So, in an attempt to help Indian hockey get accustomed to the ‘modern’ style of play, two national players and a coach have been invited to train at the National Institute of Sports in Perth, under a programme initiated by Hockey Australia and Hockey India.
National team assistant coach Clarence Lobo, upcoming youngsters Danish Mujtaba and Joydeep Kaur —who was named in the women’s Asian XI last year — will train at the institute for a period of 10 days under 1986 Australian World Cup-winning captain David Bell.
Though 10 days are not enough for the Indian trio to learn the ‘Australian way’, Lobo said they will try to get the basics right, and then implement it in the Indian set-up.
“The focus would be to learn the technical and physical aspects of the game, and also see how they use the video technology,” said the Tata employee before leaving for Perth on Thursday. “One thing that I will try to find out is the way they scout the young talents.”
For the record, Australia are the Olympic and world champions, and they are also the Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games title holders. And for this reason, Lobo believes the training programme will work wonders for them. “Whatever little we learn, will be something new. If all three of us pass on the education to the rest of the team, it will surely be helpful.”
Hockey India executive director Anupam Ghulati expects the initiative will reap benefits in the long term. “The criterion for the players is that they should be under 25 years of age and should be featuring in the national team. We will send two players and coaches every year. The scholarship is sponsored by both the governments,” he informed.