I won’t go, says India hockey coach Jose Brasa

By Sanjjeev K Samyal | Place: Guangzhou | Agency: DNA

India hockey coach Jose Brasa said he is proud of the way his team played in the tournament, never mind the result, and does not feel he deserves the axe.

“I am not going. If they tell me to go then I will leave. It’s in my contract that it can be extended,” Brasa said after the third-place match against South Korea, which his team won 1-0.

He did not agree with the decision of his support staff to resign after the semifinal defeat. “I don’t think it is right to resign in the middle of the tournament. The Indians do things too much with their heart. If we resign, it shows that what we are doing is wrong. We are doing a good job and the team is playing well,” he said.

He was not satisfied with the bronze medal finish. “We played better hockey here than anyone. We won all our matches except against Malaysia. That was also because of poor umpiring. The decision to award the penalty corner was poor.

“I am satisfied with our performance but not happy with the result. We should have won the gold medal. We were the best team among the four semifinalists,” said Brasa.

Brasa said his is a work in progression with the Indian team but if they were to compete with the best in the world, the country’s federation will have to plan better and provide modern, scientific training methods.

“We did not play a single training match before the Asian Games.
In fact, we have not been able to organise a single training match in the 18 months I have been here — before Salta, Champions Challenge, World Cup or the CWG.

“The only games we have played are the competition matches. If you look at Germany, Holland, England or Spain and check their websites you will find their exact schedule for the next year. Here, we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow,” said Brasa.

India defender Sardara Singh and captain Rajpal Singh gave credit to their coach for the good work he has done with the team.

“The team has improved under him. It is for all to see. It is up to the federation but it will be good if he continues,” said Sardara.

Rajpal said he didn’t want to comment on whether Brasa should continue or not but the Spaniard deserved all the credit for the team’s performance in the last 18 months.