No less a Chak De moment
The Australian tour has been disappointing but Indian hockey is witnessing a change under chief coach Michael Nobbs. The players, who generally run out of legs in 30 minutes, are now focussing on intense fitness and diet regimes, says Sumati Mehrishi
In the game of hockey, you have the huddle to whisper prayers and a half time to fix up things you have ruined. During the half time, the timer pauses. You have the chance to huff out of loopholes with a patient teammate or two over lemon return to lay your life for the country sweating, attacking or defending. For the Indian men’s hockey squad, things have come by really the hard way. The half time — it’s not enough. Half a year is too a short time. And half ways — well no room for them — at least, until February 2012.
Ranked 10th in the world today, and three months away from the London Olympic qualifiers, the Indian side is oscillating between occasional spurts of hope and an immense pressure to perform between patches of dejection. The TV commentators in Perth rebuild Yuvraj Walmiki’s “congested suburban shanty” in lofty words, very often. Walmiki is India’s recent resounding rags-to-riches story. In the Hockey 9s, he would plum into the 25 yard circle, frittering the Pakistani defence or lunging at the audacious Aussies. He has been quite a song. And songs are a beginning to a revolution.
Present Tense
If seniority, experience, fitness standards and freshness were to combine, the squad playing at the Australia tour was probably the most balanced ones we have had in the recent times. Yet, the result is a matter of concern. Why? Former Olympian and hockey veteran Dhanraj Pillay says, “Chief coach Michael Nobbs is putting in all he can. He is doing a wonderful job. But Hockey India’s foolishness is spoiling everything. What’s the need for sending so many coaches on a tour under Nobbs? At a tournament, when Nobbs should be directly dealing with players, there are a minimum three coaches accompanying the squad and giving the players tips. As a penalty corner specialist I would not require a separate coach to spoon feed me over a tournament.”
Nobbs’ efforts of introducing multiple leadership in the team and rotation of captains have had mixed results during the Australia tour. The clock is ticking — ruthlessly. Each minute counts. “Hope” counts. Every player in the 90-odd probables for the qualifiers would count. Today, “change”, when applied to the present situation in Indian hockey boggles the mind. Probably, more than it did during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. What would get us there? Nobbs says, “If you have to play the best, copy the best. Play the best. Fitness would get us there. It has to be improved. And the players are going to have a hard time. David John (exercise physiologist) and I have real high fitness standards. For a full back to be hitting long field goals, there is a lot to achieve.”
Pillay adds, “For any Indian squad to beat Australia or to be anywhere around them, it would take us good 10 years. Hope Nobbs helps us make it through the qualifiers.” For the Indian hockey fan, the lump in the throat stays over.
The chief coach has seen more than a befitting picture of the incredible Indian hockey situation and its idiosyncrasies in a very short time. Total contrasts, at that. The persistent administrative turbulence and the officials’ emotional bankruptcy are killing the chances we have.
Then, the purple patch — the Asian Champions Trophy heroic win achieved with nine “freshers”. This followed an unflattering performance at the Lanco International Superseries Hockey 9s in Perth last month. Nobbs has seen temper get the better of skillful players Gurbaj Singh and Gurvinder Singh Chandi in a disgraceful bloodshed in a match against Pakistan, a total contrast to how the team ignored the expletives raked at them by Pakistani coach at Ordos. The traditional thrashing from Australia in the 11-a-side matches in the tri-nation Test series — much against his personal comfort — has been persistent. At the tri-series, India drew the match against Pakistan (1-1) and failed to make it to the finals. Nobbs is dabbling with all. Nobbs is mindful of the uneasy undercurrents. He is relentless and realistic.
Men at work
But Nobbs and John have spent the last three months in back-breaking laboratory-kind of a situation. Players are being observed, studied and encouraged between and over tournaments. Their diet and fitness issues are being prioritised and addressed — visibly, on war footing. John says, “We have very little time to improve the fitness level. Three months ago we realised the players were going wrong with their diet. Goalkeepers were taking carbohydrates. We corrected that during the China tour.”
At the Sports Authority of India, Bangalore Centre, where the team was being trained before and between the China and Australia tours, John is on his feet. He takes up fitness drills, engages players mentally to meet the tough requirements they require to fulfill against the world’s fittest sides, especially the Australians. He watches what they eat. Between devouring war cries and friendly banter, he helps push mental and physical boundaries — something they have previously not done in a calculated, measured, scientific regime.
The players are happy with how they are being treated and taught. At least seven players told us at the national camp being held in Bangalore that they feel less stressed and less bogged down with the fact they are not being verbally abused at the practice session. “That’s the difference between an Indian coach and the foreign one. Indian coaches would use the most rotten abuses — in Hindi. Forget the younger players. Even a senior like me would be so terrified.”
Undercurrents
Is Nobbs aware how things have been made tough for foreign coaches in respect with their emotional skills and interactions with Indian players? Yes. Do the players trust him with their personal performance and improvement? Yes, very much. Has he been able to break the stubborn impudicity and impropriety in a few “freshers” and seniors? Not really.
Nobbs is cracking it with one formula — knowing and using players as per their best and their worst. Sardar Singh, the precocious mid-fielder has got his humility back, Raghunath his place and pace, Rajpal his timely reticence, Rupinderpal Singh, variations in positions in playing (over 9s). There is no end to how much Sreejesh Pattu Ravindran can contribute with his aggression, pleasantness, focus and skill during the camps and tours. Ignace Tirkey is the gluing factor owing to his kind of commitment and bonhomie with all flanks and ranks. Manjit Kullu, Manpreet Singh, Ravi Pal, SV Sunil, Vikas Sharma and Walmiki — pivots of the future who are being consciously, intelligently, subtly pampered and pushed.
Former deputy coach Harendra Singh says, “To crack the qualifiers, it is important the team has a balance of players. In the past we have gone with a young side and it has been disastrous. Nobbs is doing a great job. But the performance in Australia tells us there are a lot of loopholes.”
Not much is being read into the unsatisfactory show at the recent Super 9s. It indicates at the team’s fitness and reflexes, the dithering defence, the rusty pace and faltering finishes from the forwards, mistraps, a helter-skelter show inside the circle, an appalling tendency to fatally lose the initial 10 minutes of the game, less yields and low conversions. The numerical advantage over the Black Sticks and Pakistan was nowhere near it was to be. For India, the Super 9s weren’t the fury (owing to our traditional style of attacking hockey) they were meant to be. Harendra adds, “They were a new speedy format and the fitness levels are gradually improving. But the pace of the game in 9s could encourage players to improve in the 11s.”
In the tri-nation 11-a-side Test series, the defence howlers, the destructive fizzing out of the pace during the second half, the piling over of goals from rivals over a meek self-surrender continue. Panic, no.
The Indian hockey fans have enough passion to do an Occupy Wall Street of sorts, if the situation requires one. Stop now, trouble-makers. The coach and his men are slogging against the clock.