ERROL D’CRUZ

The 16-member Indian women’s hockey squad announced for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Friday received a thumbs-up from former coach C.R. Kumar.

Kumar has a connect with the team, 14 players of which were under his tutelage at many a campaign including the last Olympics in Rio five years ago, the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

“It’s a fair selection,” said the 60-year-old from Chennai on  Friday. “The players, most of whom have played together for around 10 years, are experienced. Along with a few young players, I think the team stands a good chance of doing better than at Rio (where the team finished 12^th and last).”

The squad, as is the case with most nations these days, has opted to travel with just one goalkeeper – Savita Punia – but Kumar is not perturbed by the singularity.

“Another goalkeeper would deprive teams of an outfield player which would stretch the bench. Besides, with matches being played on alternate days there’s scope for recovery,” he said.

“In any emergency, a substitute make-shift goalkeeper I would think would be Deep Grace Ekka who is a brave player and perhaps has acquired necessary knowledge of playing in goal from her brother who is a goalkeeper himself.”

The defence, according to Kumar, a centre-forward in his heyday, is in good shape. “Deep Grace will have for company Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur and Udita but they will be stretched by the World No. 1 team the Netherlands in their opener,” reckons Kumar who also guided India’s senior men’s team. The team will face a challenge to work against the speed of the Dutch and reduce their circle entries.”

He expressed satisfaction with how the midfield has been shaping in recent times. “Monika (Malik) is a livewire centre-half and Neha (Goyal) carries and passes the ball adeptly. Navjot Kaur is also a good ball player and the trio’s influence on play via rotation should hold the other midfielders including Nisha Sharma, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Salima Tete in good stead.”

As for the forward line, captain Rani Rampal drew plaudits from Kumar who termed her a “genius”.

“She is confident in the circle and given her vast experience, skills and ability to motivate her team, Rani has the wherewithal to shoulder responsibility,” Kumar said.

“Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami,Vandana Katariya and Sharmila Devi have grown from strength to strength,” he added.

“Drag-flicking is in the good hands of Gurjit who supplements her strong presence in the defence, a position she’s steadily built on right from her days with the junior team,” Kumar observes.

“Of course, converting penalty corners involves a team effort right from injection to stopping the ball before the drag-flicker can do her job but the team has matured well with respect to the set-piece.”

Kumar notes a profound development in the vision and mentality of the team who he says have gained from intense training at the SAI Complex in Bengaluru and the exposure through overseas tours to Argentina and Germany earlier this year.

“The players have learned to think for themselves and try out techniques and tactics on their own. Spending considerable time in isolation – a situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – had given players time to introspect,” he reasons.

Kumar has taken note of the tours of Argentina and Germany and is heartened by the gains in terms of controlling play and counter-attacking but sees the dire need to sharpen up inside the scoring circle.

“Making quick, sharp passes, creating space in the scoring area, finding the angles, effecting deflections and pouncing on rebounds as a means of scoring are crucial aspects of the game.

“The more circle penetrations the girls can produce, greater the opportunities. Perhaps the tours would have taught them vital lessons to convert chances into goals especially from penalty corners where positioning at the posts can fetch dividends,” Kumar analyses.

Quitting the job after the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Pelembang where the team finished with the silver medal, Kumar took time off to tend to his ailing father who eventually passed away in 2019.

He returned to coaching after that, travelling to Oman where he guided Ahli-Sidab to a Sultan Cup triumph in February 2021.

You can be sure Kumar will be tuned in to Tokyo, hoping to see his former charges justify the faith in an arduous Olympic campaign.

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