The Indian team for Azlan Shah hockey tournament has been dubbed
variously as inexperienced, weak, experimental and under-prepared. Of
all these, perhaps only the last has some truth to it. This will be
the first major competition for India after the Asian Games and while
all the other teams have been playing tests or some tournament, the
Indian players had to start from a scratch during the national camp in
New Delhi. However, the way the players prepared under new chief coach
Harendra Singh, it will be wrong to say they have been taking the
event lightly.

Most of the days there were two sessions of practice, sometimes even
three, with the players sweating it out for almost 8-10 hours either
on the field or the gym every day. It is a mark of the players’
improved fitness that, except for freak injuries to a couple of
players, none of them developed cramps or missed training due to
injury for a single day. In Delhi, where the temperatures have been
high since middle of April, that is no mean achievement, credit for
which should go to the support staff of trainer Pradip Dutta and
physiotherapist Shrikant Iyengar.

Other than that, saying this is a weak team will be wrong. While it is
true that many senior players are missing for different reasons, those
who have made the cut for the 18-member squad are no novices. Many
among them, like Rupinder Pal Singh and Vikas Sharma, have already
earned India caps and were part of the Azlan Shah last year as well,
so they know what to expect. In the end, no senior player was dropped
for reasons unknown — unlike in the past, when there were question
marks over selections or droppings — and when certain names cropped
up, there was a logical reason from the coach to explain the absence
(case in point is VS Vinaya, who is extremely talented but
unfortunately has a much longer recovery period after breakdowns than
the team can afford).

Also, one has to remember that the Azlan Shah is, in a way, the
beginning of international season for most teams. And with major
tournaments like the Champions Trophy, the Olympic qualifiers and the
Olympics coming up in the next 18 months, every team will be looking
to test their bench strength. For India to also try and do the same is
not something for which they must be blamed.

That said, it is a good thing for the Indian youngsters that, except
for Australia, most of the teams have named decently strong squads. It
is easier for teams like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Great
Britain since they have already qualified for the London Olympics next
year. For India, there is little time to iron out the glitches before
the qualifiers — every member of the squad and staff is aware that
missing the bus for a second straight Olympics (after Beijing) will be
the deathknell for hockey in the country — and so the emphasis on
making the most of the time they have.

The 18-member composition of the Indian team is a mix of experience
and youngsters. It may be true that India doesn’t have a big enough
pool to pick and choose players, which is a concern, but it is equally
true that making the most of what you have is what counts (like in New
Zealand). In that sense, a decent performance in Azlan Shah by India
will not only be a big boost but also heartening. And while
performance in the Azlan Shah cannot be termed a turnaround in
fortunes in haste, it will surely go to help raise the confidence of
players in an important year. Winning is a habit and every small bit
will help the Indian team. Don’t forget, the joint defending champions
did manage to carry the momentum to win a CWG silver last year and
were definitely the best team at the Asian Games despite winning
bronze.