New Delhi: Of late, the Belgium men's hockey team have been matching the likes of Germany, Australia and the Netherlands. They are now considerd as one of the stronger sides along with the trio, who have dominated the World Cup or the Olympic Games in the recent past.
Jeroen Delmee, accompanying the Belgium team for the Junior World Cup here as an assistant coach, said the reason behind their success was “right structure and hard work“.
“It's just hard work. Within our association, there is a very good structure and plan to develop a team. It did not happen suddenly. We are benefitting from efforts we started 10 years ago,“ Delmee said.
“European and Australian hockey is a bit more structured. If you look at other countries, they have trouble with the same tactics and under the same organisation. Hockey is more and more about tactics these days, and if you have the right tactics, a good philosophy, and a good programme for years — to bring new players into the team — then you will get good results,” the former Dutch player said.
Delmee said that the sport was growing in Belgium.
“It’s not the biggest sport, but hockey is growing and getting a lot of TV coverage now. Thst’s because of good results, and many people are enthusiastic about hockey.” The recent success of Belgium has catapulted them to fifth place in the world rankings. They were placed 13th three years back. The junior side have also taken giant strides recently including winning last year’s EuroHockey Junior Championships in Den Bosch, and are one of the top contenders at the Junior World Cup, that starts this Friday.
Delmee was “satisfied” with the way they had started their practice sessions, but said for them, results did not matter. “To come out better and better in every match is what we are looking for here.
“We have a good mixture. But they are all youngsters, so we cannot expect a lot from them.” Belgium are placed in Pool A along with Germany, Pakistan and Egypt. The coach admitted that it was a tough group but expected surprises.
“I expect Australia to go far, the Germans to have a good performance, even Argentina perform well at the junior level. So it will be an interesting tournament. India will be an especially tough team. I spoke to the technical director Roelant Oltmans who is my friend and he said that they had many players who have played at the senior level.
That will be a big advantage for India,” said Delmee.
