Kochi: Foreign coaches have been in charge of the national team since the last few years, but triple Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Senior feels that the revival of Indian hockey can only be brought about by local coaches.
Terming foreign coaches ‘over-qualified’, the 90-year-old legend said they bring in their own styles of play which may not be suitable for the Indian players.
“There are very good foreign coaches, they are highly qualified but they are over-qualified for our conditions. We must get our intelligent coaches, educated ones, trained abroad. They should get the training so that when they come back, they can continue till they retire,” Balbir was quoted as saying by an agency.
“Now, foreign coaches, come and take salaries, sorry to say that, and they go back. If we can get our own coaches trained, get all the training facilities abroad, they can come back, serve the country. Then they will feel honoured to serve the country. We have talent, our boys are good, but we lack in training and physical fitness. We should be among the top 4-5 teams. We should be there,” Balbir added.
“Training is also one of the reasons, because our coaches are qualified, but nowadays, foreign coaches come, they train their (style) hockey. We should get our coaches trained, so as to produce many more coaches.”
Balbir, who turned 90 on Tuesday, feels that players have become more money minded these days and has himself devised a three-tier league which he believes can take care of that issue while improving the standard of the game.
“It’s a hockey league. We should hold it once a year and we finish it within a month. If there is a national league in place of a national championship and there are at least 30 teams, divide them in three divisions, according to their merit as per the latest national hockey championship. Top to bottom, according to their rankings, divide those teams into three. Top division 10 teams, then second 20-30 and then the third 20-30.
“You split up the teams. The top 10 will fight among themselves and you will have specific financial incentive. Then you have a system in place for promotion and demotion. Then in the number two league, you would be promoted to the next group. The same rule you follow for football all over,” he remarked.
“They are more money-minded these days, that is normal also because money is required. Money is very important. In my hockey league, there is a prize money for the coaches, for the teams, for the associations also.”
Balbir, who was also the chief coach and manager of the team that won the one and only World Cup title for India in 1975, said that shortcomings in technique and skills can only be overcome by repeated practice.
“Practice, it’s the key. Penalty corners, there were times when we use to score from penalty corners also. Individual training is also important. Time and again, we use to practice penalty corners. Excellence, then, is not an art but a habit. I always used to tell the players, the top spot is always vacant. Anybody who works hard can reach there” he said.
The hockey legend enlisted a number of other reasons for the declining standard of Indian hockey which, he said, has been given a “step-motherly treatment”. The long-standing feud between the two federations — the Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation — was also hurting the game.
“Unfortunately, there are two federations. Because of the division, our hockey has suffered a lot”, he pointed out. “We have given hockey step motherly treatment. Other sports, no. 1 is cricket, it is in limelight, the players are highly paid, always on TV. They are treated as actors. But hockey poor chaps, sorry.”
