Brasa’s experiment works

As the Indian hockey team returned home from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia as joint-winners late on Monday night, conspicuous by their absence at the airport were the Hockey India officials. But that didn’t take away the excitement from the young team that happily posed with the trophy.
Link man Sardar Singh, who was named the Player of the Tournament, admitted that it felt great to emerge winner in the prestigious tournament despite the fact that several national team regulars were not in the squad.

“When we first landed in Malaysia, we did feel that we were an inexperienced side. The youngsters in the squad were not rank outsiders since they had been part of junior teams including the junior World Cup. But still senior level competition was new for them. Once they were on the field, they were as good as anybody. Their performances helped the team a lot,” he said.

Praising chief coach Jose Brasa, Sardar said the Spaniard was clear about the goals that he had set for the team. “He told us that we were to try new things with a new set of players. So there was no pressure to win. He also told us to play freely, and the results would follow. That’s exactly what happened,” he said.

Striker Tushar Khandker, who was highest goal scorer for India, said he too wasn’t under pressure. “When I step on to the field, I want to give 100 per cent. Scoring goals gives satisfaction, but winning games is more worthwhile. I would have preferred playing the final and winning, but there is nothing you can do about it,” he said, adding that playing back to back matches, especially against teams like Korea and Australia, were not easy.

Captain Rajpal Singh was also hopeful that the win would help boost players’ confidence. “This was a good testing ground for the team. People may say that the other teams were inexperienced but even we didn’t have seniors in the side. Many of these players that we faced in the tournament would also figure in the Commonwealth Games, so it’s not like we were playing any easy games. In that sense, the tournament was a big success,” Rajpal said.

Only a couple of months back, eventual champions Australia had thrashed India 5-2 in the World Cup here, and Sardar admitted the players remembered it. “All the players remembered the 5-2 defeat. We wanted to play our best and make a point. Korea are the Asian champions while Australia is always tough. And since we beat both the teams it was satisfying,. This shows we can do much better if we keep improving,” he said.

Short break

After a short break, the players will be joining others at the training camp at Pune from May 30. So does it mean that the players can finally cool their heels? “Not at all,” says Tushar. “All players have been given specific training schedules and I will be starting my workouts from tomorrow itself. It’s good to be home but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t venture near a hockey field.”