Indian hockey has added another feather to its cap winning the inaugural Youth Asia Cup recently. The fourth title of the year after the Asian School Games, Dhaka Gold Cup and Akhbar El Yom 5-Nation Cup, has placed India in a unique distinction of the title holder of three of the four major continental competitions – Asian Games, Under-18 and Under-16. Only honour that eluded India was the Under 21 category when South Korea defeated it 5-4 in a captivating final last year.
The latest Cup victory achieved at Ipoh in Malaysia was far more authoritative and emphatic than the rest. Yugraj Singh’s India strode like colossus from the moment the ball was set in motion at the picturesque Sultan Azlan Stadium. India won all the six matches with a handsome margin that included a heartwarming 7-1 drubbing of South Korea in the semis and 7-0 against impressive looking Uzbekistan in the final.
India sent its entry after the expiry date, but once the Malaysian Hockey Federation has accepted it, it was billed as the potential winner. After ten days from June 1, India proved the projections right.
Says Rajinder Singh, the victorious coach: ”Yes, the pressure was there as the Malaysia media focused more than others, but our boys were not at all affected. They were simply uninhibited in their approach. My plan was to go all out for goals, which anyway is our patented style. But what made the difference was our boys might be young but not inexperienced. Say, for example, captain Yugraj Singh was in the senior camp. A handful were in the Asian School Games team”.
His cannot be further from truth. Most of these had figured in the highly competitive Senior National championship and Grade I tournaments. Jugraj, a distant relative of illustrious women hockey player Rajbir Roy, was declared Best Player of the recent U&I Championship and got a reward of Rs. 25,000. Other like Rajnikant, Sumesh Kanta, who got the best goalkeeper epithet at Ipoh, Tusher Khandekar, player of the final and Amarjit Singh, hailed as the ‘skilful Sikh by Malay media, were part of the victorious Under-16 team.
Attacking brand of hockey seemed to have paid dividends for India. At least in three matches, it was right on target within five minutes of play, which has unsettled the rival’s defence. The forwards not only scored goals, but also generated a plethora of penalty corners. Adds Rajinder, “This is the great thing. Yugraj could convert almost about 80 percent of the penalty corners using his deft drag flicks. I foresee a great future for him in the mould of Sohail Abbas.
The coach from Delhi is eminently placed to assess as he himself was a great exponent of this part of the game which enabled him to top-score in the 1981 Bombay World Cup.
Naturally India was in a goal riot. It scored a 7-0 win over Oman in the opener, 10-0 against Singapore in the next before facing a spirited Malaysia(6-4). Brunei was its last pool encounter which it overwhelmed at 17-1. In all 54 goals in six matches. Expectedly, forward Rajpal Singh became the Player of the Tournament.
“So talented is all these boys, I expect at least half dozen will figure in our Junior World Cup team”, Rajinder asserts. India was the finalist of the last Junior World Cup and the next edition will be held at Hobart in Australia this October.
“We have got three of the four trophies except Fair Play which went to Malaysia. Three of our boys are in the Asian XI too. More would have joined but for the practice of taking at least one from each participating country”, said beaming KPS Gill, president, IHF, in the second of ceremonial receptions accorded to the team at Delhi after the first at Chennai on Monday. He also had a dig at the press for ignoring team games and obsessed with individual sports. “ We are also yet to get congratulatory message from the `authorities’.
But one thing he should not forget is to keeping the winning team intact and the give the coaches a chance of continuity.
The case of Rajinder Singh is proof how things go other way. He trained the team for Egypt 5-nation in 1999 only to see him replaced for the next edition in 2000. He was again asked to coach the team for the 2001 edition which India won. Such whim and fancy won’t do. In 1999, CRPF’s Satinder Singh was his deputy, in 2001 Chhatarpal Singh and now Narender Sodhi.
The Junior World Cup is only five months away, the IHF is yet to name a coach. Will Rajinder get the post?
Not long ago, Gill stated `win and ask for rewards’. Will the winners get anything now?
Only the IHF can enlighten us.