MANGALORE: Indian men’s hockey team has shifted gears under Australian Michael Nobbs. It is now more conversant with attacking hockey as opposed to defensive hockey in the past, said SV Sunil Acharya, member of the victorious team that won Olympic hockey qualifiers in New Delhi recently. Fitness of the team too has scaled newer heights under the physical trainer David John and converted it into a fit fighting machine on field, Sunil added.
Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of felicitation accorded to him by the Vishwakarma community that he belongs to at Sri Kalikamba Vinayaka Temple on Saturday, Sunil said results of efforts put in by Nobbs and John is there for all to see. “We won the Asian Champions Trophy, bagged silver in the Champions Challenge in Johannesburg and now capped it with gold medal in the most important Olympic hockey qualifiers,” he noted.
An important aspect of Nobbs’ coaching, Sunil said is the fact that India is now able to exert pressure on its opponents from the word go with the attacking brand of hockey that he professes. “David has let us know what power and speed is all about,” he said admitting that it was difficult to adapt to his training regimen in the initial days. “We were more on the hockey field then in our rooms,” he said, adding the results are now paying off.
The success in the qualifiers is the result of six-months of untiring effort, Sunil, voted man of the match in two games, said. “We were determined to erase bad memories of Chile debacle,” he said adding Nobbs put the team on that path. The present team, which is packed with youngsters and ably supported by seniors is very much part of Nobbs plan to build a team that would be around when 2016 Olympics gets underway in Rio De Janeiro, he said.
The team’s preparation for the London Olympics will be tested when it squares off against Australia, Germany and Holland in a four-nation hockey tournament next month in London, he said. “This event will let us know where we stand ahead of the Olympics,” he said, adding it would also give them ample time to go back to the drawing board, iron out chinks in the armour if any, train harder and then go to the Olympics aiming for a podium finish.