Hockey Features syndicated then Chief Coach MK Kaushik’s column on the last World Cup. These are reproduced here for the benefit of our readers.

MK Kaushik’s Column on the World Cup 2006

Fitness is the key to success in sportfields. Only a physically fit team can execute the plan of coaches on the turf. Fitness is all the more a serious concern if the talent pool is small and replacements are hard to come by. This is exactly the case with Indian women hockey. Therefore, since taking up the women challenge two years ago, my focus has been forging a tough team that can take up stern challenges such as World Cup.

I am fairly successful too. We conserved many players for this event by executing a carefully conceived rehabilitation programme. Though we reached the commonwealth Games final early this year, I knew from my heart that how I ran out of bench strength there as the competition grew due to fitness problems. We had to just massage and send some players to make up numbers on the field, and that is not the type of fitness which can yield results.

After the Commonwealth Games, all the key players having the suspect fitness were sent for rehabilitation, counselling them to miss an European tour. Thankfully they also willingly accepted this. Star players like captain Sumrai Tete, strikers Surinder Kaur and Mamta Kharab, midfielders Asunta Lakra, Rajwinder Kaur and Gagandeep Kaur had a stint first at Bangalore and then at Ashoka Hotel in Delhi. The progress they made at Bangalore was slow, but caught up with at Delhi. I Am disappointed that the Sports Authority of India did not provide the level of scientific support that is needed for high performance teams.

However, am happy that all these players except Sumrai could make it to the world cup finally. Sumrai´s knee problem is chronic and we decided not to risk her in order to preserve her for the future. Her replacement, Gagandeep Kaur is competent, but not have a Sumrai´s stature, who has been our lioness at the left half since 12 years. In the end am having fairly a fit team here in Madrid and our team doctor Vikas Dawan deserves some accolades for this.

We know the nation is looking for us to do better after the recent men´s world cup. This is a tall order, but we won´t be wanting in effort and consistency, which I feel were the shortcomings of our men at Monchenglabach. Comparisons have to end here, as both our men and women players tend to commit same mistakes (holding the ball, wrong positioning etc) again and again. We have repeatedly seen the men´s world cup matches and players were imparted on the nuances and the remedial measures.

My pool is like champions trophy. We face previous World Cup silver medallist and the Champions trophy holders Netherlands in the opener and the reigning Olympic champions, Germany, in the next. Power house China, the hosts Spain and England are also in our pool. My approach will be match by match and are well prepared for the task. The pressure is on the other teams as we are open-minded and will go all out. We worked hard on sound penalty corner defence, zonal marking and crowded defence. Rival forwards will not be given elbow room. Instruction and training to our forwards are like this; ´Don´t return empty handed from the circle, earn a penalty corner or score a goal´. With this in mind, I hope my girls, who are all obedient, hardworking and optimistic, will deliver the goods.
Hockey Features

COLUMN 2

This is world cup. Even a single mistake can cost dearly. This lesson should sit in the minds of my girls. But it was not so in the first half of our opening match against The Netherlands on Wednesday. They committed some habitual errors that cost us a point. In the hindsight I feel the girls could not get rid of rival team´s stature that they are formidable, world number one and thus are overawed by their reputation. Our bad first half performance was due to this self-inflicted, unwarranted inferior complex mindset.

This was against our plan. We wanted to play our natural game and ensure better of the ball possession in the first quarter, and build on the goal bearing moves thereafter. But most of the girls were sedate and loathe in the beginning that before they realised their mistakes two goals were up against them.

Those were the copy book goals the Dutch are known for scoring early in the matches An alert and dynamic team could have easily prevented, but we were not . We played the Dutch during our preparatory Europe tour but still lessons were not learnt. We did not perform even fifty percent of our potential in the first half for no valid reasons other than the mindset I speak out. Because of this we played two distinct halves, one boring the other exciting.

In the second half when we started attacking, the Dutch defence crumbled. They were even scared and committed the type of mistakes we committed in the beginning. Our forwards who were almost standstill in the first half, got their confidence back. We converted the only penalty corner we got and it set the tune for more and more attacks. Our hitting and stopping skills improved and there was an urgency in our forwards.

When there is so much in you, why to be scared of?. This is exactly the point I emphasize in the drills but did not work time being. I really appreciate hardworking midfielder Sanggai Chanu, defender Binita Toppo, and goalkeeper Helen Mary for keeping the game within grip, arresting from further damage being done in the torrid initial phase when our forwards were struggling.

The hot weather helped us on Wednesday more than our rivals. We are used to this type of weather and should make most of it in the coming days.

Reputations are nothing when the team believes in itself. We are 13 in the FIH ranking while the Dutch are at the top of the chart. We scored twice in the second half and then a goal was disallowed. Had the goal, which my opinion is legitimate and came from the stick, been allowed to stay we were really in for a party. When there is a provision for video umpiring, why can´t it be used to satisfy both the parties than rely on other umpire who is far from the spot of action? Tournament officials should take note of such lapses.

It is eleven versus eleven and on a given day any team can defeat the other. My team has definitely started believing in itself and it is a good sign. Even the results on the first day establish how fickle the rating and past performances are. Olympic champions Germany, our next rival on Friday, lost to the spirited Spaniards. Defending champions Argentina struggled to no end to garner full points against USA (2-1). England overcame 2006 champions trophy finalist China. We have a lesson in all these. Having watched all these matches, my girls are motivated now.

While the top rated teams struggle here, England impresses me. They play a solid game. Their attack and midfield is better organized. Their defeat of China was not fluke or freak in nature. England is the team to watch here.
HOCKEY FEATURES

COLUMN 3

After the first match defeat, my girls have showed tremendous improvements in both game play and mental toughness against Germany on Friday. The same spirit and system that had been displayed against the Dutch in the firt half, continued against the reigning Olympic champions, Germany. However, I have to concede that the team could not sustain high degree of focus for the entire 70 minutes which cost a match that was in our grip throughout

We started the game the way we planned. We made an attack from the bully off using overhead pass to the rival´s right side and the ball was straight into the circle. However, we did not utilize the opportunity because one of our forwards hurried her move. Here the anxiety factor comes into play. A gentle scoop or push would have yielded the goal but not the shot which she unleashed. My girls committed same type of mistakes twice later in the first half itself. Otherwise we would have been up against the rivals instead of sharing two goals in the first half.

Germany somehow was not in their elements against us. Either they are shaky or overconfident. We ran them close in the first half with short passes, smart intercetions and forcible counter attacks. The 11 girls on the turf moved in tandem, with extrordinary display of ball possession. Germany was outplayed in that spell, but we missed our opportunities. Our first penalty corner was wasted when again the rebound was hit instead of scooping or pushing. Mamta, Sanggai, Binita, Suman and Surinder played superbly and our attacks continued because of their good work.

Mamta Kharab´s goal, a freehit deflection in the second half, gave us the 2-1 lead, but thereafter the team struggled because of two reasons. One, the midfielders and forwards who were till then covering wide area, did not fall back. This gave unexpected elbow room for the German forwards leading to severe pressure on the defence. Secondly, a couple of dubious penalty corners were awarded against us which has seemingly shaken the confidence level of the team. Why can´t the umpires use the video reference, a tool which is available now, before deciding?

The legendary Natascha Keller´s goal, which sealed the match against us, is classic one. She bounced the ball twice before gently scooping it above the head of goalkeepeer, dodging three of us. Our defenders´ style of holding the stick raised instead of placing it on the ground helped her to indulge in that type of goal scoring. Keller´s extraordinary skills are known and her style, actions and opportunism were studied by us frame by frame. Yet a momentary lapse took place and the veteran encashed it.

The two good matches, though we lost on identical 2-3 scoreline, should now motivate the girls to go all out against the English on Saturday. Still nine points are up for grab and the pool is open. China, Netherlands and Germany are struggling. With just two goals, the hosts are sitting pretty with six points, only goal aggregate or difference would decide the second semifinalist. We are therefore well in the race and make most of it in the days to come.

We have not lost to England in the last four years. We can maintain the record here on Saturday, even if we play 70 or 80 percent of the game we played against Germany. Tactically, we have to slow down the game in spells, should not succumb to rough and physical game the England relishes, and crowd their defence in order to avoid conceding easy goals. Everyone here should take lesson from Spain who are not conceding easy goals.

I will certainly change the line up for the England match. Striker Jasjeet Kaur will be in the first eleven in place of Saba Anjum who is going through a bad patch here. I might even introduce Ritu Rani in spells at the cost of Joydeep.

COLUMN 4

In my near four-decade association with hockey as a player, coach and administrator, I have never come across a bizarre situation as I faced did here in the ongoing women world cup on Sunday. We went into the dressing room with a goal on the board during the half time in our match against England, but when we returned for the second half play we were shocked to see the scoreboard reading 0-0.

We were never explained about the reversal, but !!! Then what for we will lodge a complaint – on bus timing and taste of tea served here! Funny things take place here at the cost of pride of nations.

England and India matches are always fought on even keel. We have not lost to the English side in the last four or five years or so, and were eager to obtain three points to keep our hopes of reaching the semis alive. Despite initial hiccup, we managed to contain their forwards. With good penalty corner defence, where we alternated chargers, we nullified their aggressions.

Seconds before the halftime, Subhadra Pradhan and Asunta Lakra combined beautifully to take the lead which was later done in by the umpires and officials. One can loswere sternly told to resume the match. We wanted to lodge an official protest but were told that protests cannot be lodged against umpiring decisions, but not to the umpires and officials, some of them are rank bad here. They are incompetent to officiate in such a high density tournament as world cup. The system of appointing umpires and officials needs through rehearsal.

When our goal disallowed without offering any official explanation, a goal was awarded to Germany late in the second half. This was never a goal and the umpire was done by bogus celebration of players. When video umpiring was resorted to, the goal was taken away. The point here is, when our goal was disallowed, why did not they take the help of video?

I will request Indian Women Hockey Federation to take up the matter with the FIH Officials. I know for sure that we have been unnecessarily put under pressure by the umpires. Over head slap shot goals were allowed against us in the Commonwealth Games and here genuinely scored goals are disallowed.

There was goody holiday crowd here on Sunday when we played the English. I don’t think they would have gone with happy memories. This is a bad advertisement for hockey. Hockey cannot improve its profile this way. We have issued a letter to Tournament Director Julia Ellis, asking for constituting a panel to go into the matter and redress the injustice committed against us. Am happy that the Indian Women Hockey Federation took the matter seriously, and motivated us to go in for the written complaint. If a chance is given to me, I am sure I can prove, with the support of statistics and video clippings, how many times we have been wronged.

Regarding the match, I would concede that we did not play well the way we planned. Despite playing Jasjeet Kaur in the first line up, the forwards were not upto the mark. England defence was weak and their star full back Kate Walsh was in the injured list. But we could not capitalize the chances because my girls are mentally not strong enough to come over the umpiring hassles. This is going to be stumbling block in our further effort here.

COLUMN 5

Our world cup campaign did not go the way we wanted. I consider our third match, which was against England, proved to be the turning point. After two good games against Germany and The Netherlands, which we lost identically on a narrow score of 2-3, we played our best game against England. However, we could not overcome the pressure from umpires. My team, despite our best efforts, could not recover from that shock since than. If we are playing for lower ranks, we have to only blame ourselves for this. Essentially, we lack mental toughness needed for such mega events.

I am all the more disappointed at the attitude of top officials here. We lodged a strong protest but Tournament Director Julia Ellis´ reply is casual. In fact, she did not even address the serious questions we have raised, in her in reply.

We wanted a select panel should go into the entire episode and find out why our goal was disallowed in the half time. Secondly, we asked why a stroke was denied to us. Instead of replying these points, her reply advises to follow all codes and conduct and even goes on to appreciate our talent and coaching!

Even now we did not get the official explanation for the goal cancellation. The letter directly blames the concerned umpires for poor communication. It meant that the goal was disallowed before we dispersed for half time. This is a lie, a blatant variety. Such unprofessional reply and casual attitude from the top officials are unexpected and deserves condemnation. The way they handled the whole issues puts a question mark on their competence. This is not going to help the sport grow and prosper.

The larger question is, can such things can happen to leading teams? Umpires here are partial towards weak teams. No question about it.

One small consolation as a result of our protest is that umpires of same pool countries are now not being posted for same pool matches. The officials should have done it from the day one on their own judgement, not wait for us to protest.

After England, we played against Spain and China, which we again lost by a goal margin. These contests were within our reach. Spain was good at defence and had assigned just two forwads for scoring. Our format of three forwards and two inside play makers was effective. For better part of the game, we dominated them, but due to a rather casual goalkeeping error, we gifted them a goal late in the first half. We made it 2-3, and had ample time to go for the equalizer too. Unfortunately, the world cup top scorer Surinder Singh sustained an injury late in the first half and could not be played since then. With Surinder, who is on form, we could have equalized.
China was not in its elements. Their defence was weak and penalty corner drills lacked penetration and imagination. Usually strong penalty corner expert and their captain Ma Yi Bo was completely off colour. After losing 1-6 to The Netherlands, they were a dispirited lot. This was one match winning or losing mattered to none, as in either case playing for minor placing was certain. But we wanted to win the match and did everything except scoring. Jasjeet Kaur has shown some improvements in upfront game, but that was not enough. They gave us lot of space in the middle, which helped us to forge moves, but that territorial advantage did not translate into goals because of our poor play inside the circle.

What made China the better team was our poor penalty corner execution. Our left flank worked well and forced six penalty corners, four in succession in the last ten minutes. We took three of them for direct bullet shot and the last one for deflection. But our reflexes let us down

COLUMN 6

We finished the World cup campaign with a win over South Africa. Captain Jothi Sunita Kullu, who took charge of scoring after Surider Kaur´s injury, scored the only goal of the match.

When I set for coaching in the later 2003, my immediate target was to qualify for the world cup, which we missed in 2002. Once qualified with the title victory at the Delhi Asia Cup in early 2004, my focus has been this world cup. It´s for sure I had almost three years to prepare for the team.

I also had a personal ambition. After attending an FIH coaching course in Madrid during the Men´s Olympic Qualifier mid way through 2004, I found the system and the style of hockey the world body wants us to follow will never suit us. I wanted to tell the hockey world that our style of hockey is still the best, attractive and effective through my women´s team.

Therefore, we trained for short passing, attacking brand hockey. Despite inexperienced and lower ranked, we ran close top three teams of the world — Germany, Spain and Netherlands. We lost all these three matches by a single goal margin. The world has taken note of us, but I was not satisfied because we would have scored a point with them by winning or drawing certainly not by losing, whatever the margin.

We did not play well last three matches. It seems to me that narrow loses and biased umpiring dented the team´s morale. As a coach I failed to motivate the team. Top teams never lose the fighting spirit just because one or two matches not going their way.

Overall, my team played 80 percent peak level except against Korea and China. In terms of minutes of the game, we almost played world level hockey for 50 to 55 minutes in each game. Even with this, we deserved to be in top six, but honestly speaking we could not find a replacement for Surinder Kaur once she was injured in the fourth match. Our penalty corner defence was good except against Korea, whereas we could not utilize our penalty corners due to lack of perfection in high intensity contests. I also feel that the players tend to rely on their own instincts and experience rather than coaching instructions while defending and attempting penalty corners. This is another part of my failure. Either my communication was poor, or players are insensitive to the coaching.

Due to bad shifting of defence and not having goals on board, we tended to lose steam in the remaining 15 to 20 minutes. This only shows we have a long way to go to be in the elite league.

I had excellent support of Vikas Dhawan, the team physio here, to keep the team in shape, but was let down by the lack of scientific support. For instance, even Asian teams like Japan, Korea and China have a video team (videographer, analyst etc) and softwares that help the coach improve match situations even as the contest is going on. But surprisingly, some officials sitting in the Sports Authority of India does not understand the way world moves. They procured a software recently and gave it to Men´s hockey team while we were denied the same. What is the use in spending huge sums on softwares and not made available to us before the word up. Where will it then come for our use?

Overall, we underperformed and underachieved and let the nation down. In fact, our players underestimated themselves and bogged down by initial defeats. We failed in mental preparation. On positive side, it´s a huge experience for the young team. Our stars understood how much they are below world standard compared to top teams. The world has taken note of us and I hope the FIH won´t rank us undeservedly low.