The Hindu: Juniors prepare to step up and be counted

By Uthra Ganesan

Even as the spotlight was focused on the men’s hockey team for lifting the Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday, the Indian junior team returned in the early hours of Tuesday after winning the four-nation tournament in Spain, beating reigning junior World champion Germany 5-2 in the final.

With India hosting the junior World Cup in December, coach Harendra Singh admitted it was the best possible way to get into the final countdown for the tournament. “It was very important to come away with a win — especially against the No. 1 side, in such a convincing manner.

“What is more significant is that these wins, whether against Germany or England, came on their soil. Earlier, we were only playing in Asia but now we have performed well in Europe and Australia. That is a big boost for the boys both mentally and physically. They now know what to do and what are the areas of concern, which are minor and can be sorted out easily in the upcoming camps,” Harendra told The Hindu.

The coach, who has handled Indian junior teams at previous editions of the World Cup as well, insisted that while the past teams might have had more individual talents, the winning factor and a certain correctness of combination was present this time around.

“The key element to better results now is the continuity in the teams at all levels. The only time India won the junior World Cup (2001), it was with a group that had played together for 3-4 years from 1998 onwards. This time also the core group has remained undisturbed since April 25, 2014 when I first took charge.

“It’s the same with the seniors. That long-term vision was missing earlier and I am thankful to HI, SAI and Narinder Batra for giving that freedom which has helped develop confidence in all the players and the staff,” Harendra added.

That core group may well graduate after December and senior coach Roelant Oltmans agreed it would be time for changes. “We generally begin a cycle with 33 players so even with the entire 26 from the present lot intact there are seven vacancies for juniors. But quality matters to me more than numbers and there may be fewer seniors and more juniors. Let us see after the World Cup,” Oltmans told The Hindu.

The Dutchman, who would be around till 2020 Olympics and used the bench strength optimally in Malaysia including resting captain P.R. Sreejesh for a few matches, said it was all about a coach’s confidence.

“The Indian hockey team’s bench was always strong but people did not give it an opportunity to show it. That’s the confidence a coach must have in his boys. I have seen them train and I am not afraid to test them. That’s my advice to every coach — don’t be afraid of testing. If you break my confidence in some way, then you are in trouble but most players have proved my confidence right,” Oltmans said.

About the present team, Oltmans was relieved to see players control their emotions on field and stick to the plan. “I sometimes tell the players, I want to get into your minds to see what you are thinking because I do not understand some of their decisions! I told them, if you make 1-2 mistakes, suddenly everyone starts making mistakes and then everyone is afraid of making mistakes and the planning goes for a toss.

“Accept a mistake and move on. No player in the world can avoid making mistakes. What is important is to not let it affect your game. I always say, ‘if you can’t lose, you can’t win; and if you are afraid to lose, you will lose’. The players realised it earlier also, good thing is that they are now able to execute it and focus only on their performance and no external factor, including the opposition,” he stressed.