Australia outpaced us, missed Shivendra: Brasa

NEW DELHI: India coach Jose Brasa said the team missed suspended forward Shivendra Singh but had no qualms in admitting that his wards were completely outpaced and outplayed by a vastly superior Australian side in the hockey World Cup on Tuesday.

“We did not play badly. But Australia played at a different level of fast-paced hockey. We were not used to that kind of fast hockey,” a candid Brasa said after his wards received a 5-2 plastering.

“I concede they played much better then us. They are the best team in the world despite losing against England in their first match. But they were lucky to have scored early goals, one in the first minute,” Brasa said.

“We were not lucky with the penalty corners we got. Then we missed Shivendra though we may not have won even if he had played. We could have reduced the margin had he been there. We had difficulty in substituting Shivendra. We had only one forward for the substitution and the players were tired,” said the Spaniard.

Drawing a comparison between players from both sides, the coach felt fitness made all the difference.

“Australians are very fit and strong physically. They had started research on this aspect 30 years ago and we started just six months before. They have the equipments like GPRS system for training. In our case we wanted it but we are not getting,” he said.