New Delhi: With the India team gearing up to tackle a tough pool at the upcoming Hero Hockey World League Final, assistant coach M.K. Kaushik feels that the January 10 to 18 tournament will be valuable experience for the youngsters ahead of the FIH World Cup later this year.
“We have the top teams in the world in this tournament. There is a lot less margin of error at this level. It will be lesser still at the World Cup,” Kaushik said after a training session at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday.
“We have several youngsters in the squad and they are yet to get used to life at the senior level. We cannot expect too much from them. But this experience will help them to understand what it takes to play with the best.”
Kaushik added that although playing at home had its benefits, it also brought a lot of extra pressure and it was the job of the coaching staff to ensure that the players were able live up to the challenge.
“Many of of the top coaches know how to take the pressure upon themselves and allow their team to play freely. Still, even the Europeans and Australians do feel the pressure,” he said.
“Our boys came under a lot of pressure during the junior worlds and they could not handle that. But hopefully they have learnt from the experience,” he added.
He also lashed out at former national team boss Michael Nobbs on Tuesday, asserting that there was no progress during the Australian’s tenure.
“There was no system during his (Nobbs) time. There was no proper physical training as well. That is why there was no progress. We did not do well in any tournament during the two years that Nobbs was in charge,” Kaushik said.
“Now we have put a system in place. We have a young team, and given some time, they are bound to improve,” he added. Kaushik however agreed with Nobbs’ views that the sub-continental style of hockey was the way to go for the India team.
“European hockey is difficult for us to play. We do not have a structure. The system in India is very different from the European set up. It is difficult to implement their style in India,” he said.
Whales beat Bluz
Violet Whales beat Sizzling Bluz 5-3 in their Anna Hockey League match on Tuesday. While Venugopal scored two goals, Goutham, Kumaravel and Vignesh bagged one goal each. Varun, Vimal and V.G. Ram claimed one goal each for Sizzling Bluz in their losing cause.
Results: Red Ruffianz 2 (Gopinath, Sundhar Rajan) drew with Violet Whalez 2 (Goutham, Venugopal), Yo Yo Yellowz 0 lost to Sizzling Bluz 3 (Praveen Bharathi 2, Lakshman), Green Griffinz 0 lost to White Warriorz 1 (Saravanan), Violet Whalez 5 (Venugopal 2, Goutham, Kumaravel, Vignesh) bt Sizzling Bluz 3 (Varun, Vimal, V.G. Ram), White Warriorz 0 lost to Red Ruffianz 1 (Vetrivel).
AFI releases calendar
The Athletic Federation of India has released its calendar for the year 2014. The national inter-state championships to be held in Lucknow from June 18 to 22 will serve as trials for September’s Commonwealth Games. The team for the Asian Games will be selected from the Federation Cup in Patiala from August 16 to 19.
Chennai will host the Federation Cup junior athletics from May 9 to 11. It’s the only event for the Tamil Nadu capital.
