The Tribune: Up in hills, colts finding their stride

Hit by overage mess, junior hockey team looks to come of age in serene landscapes of Shivalik range

By Indervir Grewal
Tribune News Service
Shilaroo, September 6

The setting sun flushes the wide valley with soft golden light for one last time. The sky — a vibrant blue — and the unending hills — a deep green because of the monsoon — make for an arresting backdrop.
But the young men, tired and sweaty after a long and rigorous training session, don’t seem to notice the view. It could be because they have been here for almost a month now, as part of the high-altitude junior national camp. For most, it’s their first camp in the hills and despite their visible indifference, the beauty and serenity of this place is not lost on them.

“It’s been great; nice and quiet,” says the ever reticent Harmanpreet Singh.

He turns around to look at the hills across the valley, now shaded by white clouds. It is easy to understand what he is trying to say. Compared to the rush of Delhi, this place must feel like paradise.

“This is my first high-altitude camp and it has been great. This is a beautiful place; but more importantly it’s so peaceful here. In Delhi, we have to travel over an hour every day,” chief coach Harendra Singh says.
“It is perfect for training. There are no distractions here; all we do is train, eat and rest. The boys are so focused. And without much to do, the players have more time to mingle with each other; it helps in team-building.”
As another evening session comes to an end, a cold wind starts to blow from the north. The trainees quickly put on their tracksuits before continuing with the post-training stretching.

Setback

The 34-day long preparatory camp at the SAI centre in Shilaroo (around 50km north of Shimla), which started on August 9, for the core group of 32 has been organised keeping in mind the two big tournaments that are coming up — next month’s Sultan of Johor Cup and the Junior Asia Cup to be held in November.

But the preparations of the Indian team, seeking to defend its title for the second time in a row at the Sultan of Johor Cup, have been hit by a setback. After the Nationals, a training camp for 48 probables was organised in May, from which 33 were to be shortlisted. But as the camp was nearing its end, 17 boys were excluded — most of them were found overage.

“I had already shortlisted the players for this camp. Ten of the shortlisted players were also found overage. So I had to include the boys who had not been selected the first time,” says Harendra.

The coach is not only managing with many of the second-choice boys, he is also facing a shortage. Out of the 32, seven are goalkeepers. And with minor injuries to many players, Harendra has not even been able to test the boys in a match situation. “We haven’t been able to play a practice match because there aren’t enough players for substitutions,” says Harendra.

But why seven goalkeepers? “I wanted so many goalkeepers. We have always had shortage of good goalkeepers. This way we can develop good keepers at the junior level.

“I wanted 32 players apart from the seven goalkeepers. But with the overage mess, there was shortage. I have prepared another list of the players who might have missed out earlier and sent it to Hockey India,” he says.
Though a setback for him, Harendra says it will be beneficial in the long run, especially with the Junior World Cup scheduled for next year. “Imagine this happening next year before the World Cup. So it’s good that it has happened now. I still have over a year to build a team. The overage menace has to be stopped and this is a huge step. Many talented younger players miss out because of overage ones.”

“It has affected our preparation for the upcoming tournaments but I am not worried. I have told the players it’s not about winning but playing good hockey. My main focus is on next year’s World Cup. Now I have started looking for talented boys who might be a little younger,” says Harendra.

As the boys start the short climb back to the hostel, another quiet dusk comes to an end. There are no traffic jams, no car horns, no smoke, just the sound of the cold wind.