Tour Down Under was a reality check, says Michael Nobbs

By Tushar Dutt | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Michael Nobbs, chief coach of the Indian hockey team, tells Tushar Dutt that the players need to work on their shooting skills. Excerpts:

What is your assessment of the situation?

I have done pretty detailed assessment of the state of hockey in India. We have played some competitive hockey in the past few months and the experience in Australia was really good. We got a reality check during that tournament. We are ranked 10th in the world today and know what has to be done to improve ourselves. It will take time, but it will happen. Indian hockey has gone down in the past years and I have five years to fix the problem.

How has been your stay in India so far?

I am looking at it as an adventure. I am here because I wanted to be here. I have learnt most of my hockey from the Indians, so it is a privilege to be here. This is my way of paying back to the country that has given me a lot. I know there are lots of problems but there is no need to be upset. I will fix the problems, as I am good at that.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team?

Having good skills is only a part of being a successful unit. Many other things need to be fixed. Other nations have been working hard and hence have very strong squads. Australia is one example. They have a rich pool of players, out of which they can make three competitive teams that would finish in the top six in the world. We need to do something like that.

How do you rate the players’ fitness?

We will have to improve their nutrition intake, which will give them physical strength. This is one department where we are below par. Players in other countries are eight to 10 kilos heavier than we are and therefore are stronger. We are working on this aspect, as this is something that will take some time to improve and can’t happen overnight.

How sound are they technically?

We need to get more out of our circle penetrations. We have to improve our shooting skills. We are terrible in that department at the moment and we are working hard to improve in
that area.

Indian hockey has had a wonderful past…

The team won Olympic medals till 1980 and that is history now. After that phase, sport worldwide went through a change, institutes of sport were established which established professional coaching structures, sports medicine and biomechanics nutritional expertise. Other countries adapted these changes, India failed to do so. The state of the sport has hardly progressed since then and has probably gone backwards.

Is poor administration and infighting between the two federations the reason?

A lot of things are responsible and administration is one of them. They needed to look and see what was happening around them. Now, we have had a reality check and the time has come to move on. Hockey India and Sports Authority of India are very committed to finding a solution to the problems in our game.

Coaching Indian team is not an easy task. What do you think is wrong?

Coaching has been one of the issues in India. There is almost no training and expectation of results is high. No other top hockey nation would ever entertain that thought, it just doesn’t work that way. Jose Brasa was a good coach, he attempted to change many things in a short span of time and had some success. Maybe, it wasn’t the right time as we are now 10th in the world and hopefully now we can get some great results in the next five years.

What are those ‘many things’?

By many things, I mean the style of players. Brasa tried to teach European style of hockey to the players, which was difficult for the players to adapt in such a short time. I have played Australian hockey, which is similar to Indian hockey, so I know how difficult it is to change the style to European hockey, as even in Australia, we don’t play that style.

How do you rate Bharat Chetri as a player and skipper?

Bharat is a good leader and a performer. But he is not the only one, who has these qualities. There are others are equally good in this area. We need more players like Bharat.

Like Brasa, will you too be implementing the multi-captain theory?

It may be not the multi-captain theory, but yes, we are finding people in the team who have the attributes, leadership quality and that aggression, so that it helps the team in the long run.

What is the biggest problem of the team?

There is no immediate problem as such. But we need to create greater depth. We need to develop young players, sub-junior groups, so that we can develop the game further.

What are the chances of us qualifying for the Olympics?

When I had joined the team, I said the chances are 30 per cent, today I say it is 60 per cent and may be in the coming days, it will increase.