At the camp, it’s all about being fit

Mihir S Vasavda

Dilip Tirkey believes it’s important for the team to start afresh under new coach Harendra Singh

MUMBAI: As the Indian team celebrates its crushing win over Australia, down in the south, another national team has been practicing tirelessly to get its act together. It has been eight days since the national hockey team camp began at the SAI (south) Centre in Kengeri, Bangalore, under coach Harendra Singh and his two assistants, Ramandeep Singh and Romeo James.

This is the first time that the national team has assembled together after the disappointing Olympics qualifying campaign in March earlier this year.

Players’ fitness, or lack of it, has played a big part in the deterioration of Indian hockey and Harendra has been focusing to improve that aspect of the game. Biomechanical tests were conducted on October 14 to determine fitness, results of which were announced on Wednesday. “The test is important so that we come to know how much efforts we to put on a particular players fitness,” Harendra told DNA after the team’s practice.

Though the coach said the fitness level of some players needed serious attention, he added that the result is better than he expected. “I am happy with the fitness of the players. May be it is because the domestic tournaments they participated in during this period (between the Olympics qualifier and now),” he said.

The players have been given the itinerary of international matches and the national camp till May 2009 and Harendra aims to play around 40 international matches by the World Cup in 2010 so that the players are fully prepared for the mega event in India.

Dilip Tirkey believes it was important for the team to start afresh, leaving behind the past. “We have played couple of practice matches and everything is shaping up quite well. I am particularly please with the efforts put in by some of the young players,” said Tirkey.