One of the senior most players in international hockey, two-time World Cup winner Mark Knowles of Australia believes that combining Indian and European styles of hockey has been the key to their success. The Punjab Warriors skipper talks with Akshay Sharma about hockey in Australia, the Hockey India league and much more
Similar to what happens in India, hockey gets negligible coverage compared to other sports in Australian media. So how has Australia managed to remain a top international side over the yearsIJ
I think we had very good coaching for a long period of time. We certainly try to mix European, Australian and Indian kinds of styles together so that we still have a lot of attacking flair and at the same time we can control the game also. In the last six or seven years, we have tried to play a very aggressive game.
In terms of why Australia has remained a successful hockey nation without much coverage given to the sport, I am not sure. It is definitely a family sport and you grow up truly loving it. My parents played state hockey. My grandparents did. It's a sport played among friends. Maybe due to it being a non-commercial sport, we play the game because we truly love it. And when you love something, you are more likely to put effort in it.
According to you what is the typical Aussie style of playing hockeyIJ Indians are regarded as more adept at dribbling and short passes. What is the Australian methodIJ
Ours is definitely a style of aggressive pressure. So, we try to put opposition under as much pressure as possible and that isn't hitting or pushing. It's trying to make people uncomfortable. So, we play very strong, aggressive pressing game and I think we are close to India in the speed at which we try and play at. But I think in our game we focus more on passing speed than the dribbling speed which we have seen with India and Pakistan traditionally. So, our style is relentless pressure and that too at speed.
You talked about family. Your brother-in-law (Jamie Dwyer) was also a great hockey player. Was there something special when both of you were on the field like a special understanding or chemistry between you twoIJ
I think definitely yes. And it's because we knew where we both grew up and came from. Ours is a small regional country town. Growing up together, moving away from our families at similar times also contributed to that. Coming into the Australian team at similar times was another reason for our closeness. Having pretty much the identical success for fifteen years, playing for Australia, is something which is very rare to be able to share with people in your family. You know your best friends are your teammates normally, but family is another step on top of that. So for me to have seen someone like him, who will go down as one of the greatest hockey players ever, was great.
The Australian team has couple of physically very strong players, Chris Ciriello and Glenn Turner. How important is physical strength in modern day hockeyIJ Is it more important than skills nowIJ
I don't think so. The game is getting faster and faster. It's now less about strength and more about understanding of the game. The highest, absolutely highest quality of skill is required. So, I think the big hockey players would be a thing of the past.
When you look back, you see some of the most experienced players like Dilip Tirkey and others were big guys. They were solid defenders but now, we see that the modern day players are agile and nifty. Players like Manpreet Singh are quick, and able to change directions fast as well as play multiple positions. So, I think the game of hockey will overtake those big guys and we will see players who can play absolutely everywhere.
Would you like to see a tournament like HIl in AustraliaIJ
We would love to have a league like HIl in Australia. The main issue would be finding space for it in the current international schedule. There is a very small window that remains in the itinerary when you take into account all the international tournaments and events like HIl and the European league.
So, that will be the main challenge but the authorities are working on having something like an Asian league where teams from Australia and other Asian countries can participate. Because of HIl, more and more young Australian players want to play in India. Players don't get the opportunity to play in front of large crowds and have the spotlight on them as is the case here. So, yes a league like this in Australia would be great.