The Indian team won 5-2 against Malaysia, and while most people would see it as revenge for the Asian Games semifinal loss, coach Harendra Singh is concerned more about his team’s improvement and eyeing the long term benefits than staying in the past.
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“For me, any match that has happened is gone. No point talking about stuff like revenge and past history. We can also say that way that yesterday’s draw against Australia was also a payback for the CWG final loss. I don’t see it that way and I don’t ever talk to my boys about the past matches. I only talk about opponents and upcoming matches,” he said.
But despite the visible improvement in most areas in this team – most importantly, their fitness – there still remains a question mark over this team’s long-term future. The reason being, there is no clarity on the future of the team management.
When Spaniard Jose Brasa left after his contract expired post Asiad, there were apprehensions that the team structure will completely break down in his absence. It is credit to Harendra that, having been with Brasa throughout his tenure, he did not try to bring about drastic changes and more or less continued with the existing system.
However, with repeated calls for a foreign coach, there is no clarity whether this might not be the last assignment for Harendra. What is his take on this: “Till now things are on an ad-hoc basis. But after this tournament, everything will become clear. What happens of me, what happens of the team management and the support staff, everything. There has to be a system in place. I have already given my request for the entire nine-member support staff that I need. I have also identified two foreign experts for specialized coaching whose services I want. Let us see what happens after we return,” he says, adding that without such system, expecting to beat top teams will remain a dream.
Talking about the team fitness, Harendra says it has more to do with a change in mindset than anything else. “If a player runs with the ball for 30 yards and then gives a pass, you cannot expect him to again be in a position to receive it back. What we are trying to do is to make sure the ball travels a lot of distance, not the players. That helps keep the legs fresh and the difference in fitness is there for all to see,” he says.
All the current staff – the trainer, physio, masseur and assistant coaches — are still working on ad-hoc basis with no proper contract from either the Sports Authority of India or Hockey India.
Probably a good outing here will bring many things to its logical conclusion. One can be hopeful of that given the fact that India played well against Malaysia