STICKWORK – Focus should be on youngsters

GURBUX SINGH

The hunt for a foreign coach is, it seems, finally over. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has cast its vote in favour of Jose Brasa of Spain. The veteran coach — although the modalities of his appointment are yet to be worked out — has visited New Delhi and met the ad hoc panel. It is learnt that he has submitted a wishlist of sorts as a precondition to him taking up that most onerous and challenging job — turning Indian hockey around — apart from insisting that he be awarded a contract till the 2012 London Olympics. The IOA, though, would be happier if the contract was till the 2010 Asian Games. It is heartening to see that the coach-in-waiting at least wants to focus on the bigger picture.

That the administrators have finally zeroed in on a Spaniard has had a lot to do with, and I have said earlier in these columns that such a thing was likely, the current dispensation at the helm in international hockey, headed by Spaniard Leandro Negre.

Indeed, under his predecessor, who was from Holland, it was widely believed that a Dutch coach was most likely to be appointed. But the change of guard saw Indian administrators consider a Spanish option, and now we are close to engaging Brasa’s services.

The opening of 2009, in terms of the game on the pitch, has yielded mixed results. The junior boys’ team went to Australia to take part in the Australian Youth Olympics and produced an impressive display of hockey in the league matches advancing to the finals as favourites for gold. But they tripped at the final hurdle, los ing to the hosts 1-2.

The junior girls’ team won the bronze in their category . Again, the senior men’s team, on a tour of Argentina for a four-match hockey Test series, began on a promising note but ended up drawing the series, and, I’m afraid, conceding more than what they scored. In one match, leading 2-1 at one stage, they let the hosts claw back and win 4-2.

I’d like to stress that the team hasn’t shown much change. The IOA, it seems, is still reluctant to blood in younger players and this is what I call short-sightedness. Concentrating on next year’s two major events — the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup — is fine, but I reiterate the importance of having a long-term objective.

The hockey powerhouses do just this. In between the big events, they rebuild their teams, work on their weakness es and bring in new blood. The IOA has hardly devoted any attention to these imperatives. Germany and Holland both follow this policy of renewing and restructuring their team in the interlude between big tournaments. Australia, too, in the past have successfully applied this principle even though their present senior side has a few old players.

It baffles me to think why we can’t similarly bring in younger players. Not that we have a dearth of talent. We don’t need to ask the senior players to retire. What I suggest is to keep the seniors but give the youngsters a chance in the big games. If they take a beating or fail to produce results, the team can always fall back on the sen ior players. This would help us strike a balance between youth and experience.

For instance, for the ongo ing Punjab Gold Cup, the in ternational teams have sent their developmental sides. Es pecially Holland, who, al though they arrived with a 20 member side, sent back two of their leading players, three time FIH payer of the year, Tan De Jenoir, and penalty corner specialist, Tac Takema.

It is true that India have been getting the results against the foreign teams in this tournament, winning their matches against New Zealand and Germany , and drawing against Holland. But these results have come after some struggle. Germany caused some trouble be fore going down.

All, perhaps, is not well with the ad hoc committee as the resignation of Randhir Singh from the panel seems to suggest some sort of crisis of objective.He quit completely disillusioned with the ad hoc committee, saying that he wanted to have nothing to do with it.

It is also learned that the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has added two more names to the five-member selection committee, Pargat Singh and Jagbir Singh. Together, these seven members will be deciding the working of the ad hoc committee. It is a sad affair as we are sliding back to the same situation that forced the formation of the committee in the first place.

Here I’m not criticising the IOA but I definitely feel that had the IOA done its homework, a better job could have been done of managing Indian hockey . The schedule for 2009 has been well drawn up. Beginning with the Punjab Gold Cup, we have a Test series away to New Zealand in February followed by the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in April, which comes before the Asia Cup in May .

In July/August, there is a tour of Europe planned with the Indian team scheduled to visit four countries — England, Belgium, Spain and Holland. I think this European tour would be hectic and tiring. The good news is that some of the major hockey teams will be visiting India. Australia are coming in October, followed by Germany and Spain in November.

2009 is going to be a big year for India hockey . All we have to do to make this year count is to bring in younger players and take every step forward, keeping only the long-term interests of the game in mind.