India strong contenders for Hockey WC: Doren

Belgium defender Arthur Van Doren believes India are strong title contenders in next year’s men’s hockey World Cup, saying it is “impossible to ignore” the Men in Blue for their consistency over the last few years. India’s performance at major tournaments, including successive Olympic medals, have firmly established them among the elite. “It’s impossible not to consider them as big contenders,” Van Doren told media. “They’ve shown results for a long time now, with two Olympic cycles where they ended up medallists. Ignoring India when talking about the World Cup would not be fair anymore.”

The Belgian stalwart, who has close to 300 international caps, praised the balance in the Indian team.  “They’ve got quality in pretty much every line. They’ve got a good coach, quality experience figures and quality youth,” he said, adding that the team’s overall structure now allows them to compete consistently with the best. Van Doren noted that India’s resurgence has not happened overnight, but is the result of sustained planning and exposure system. “What you see now is not a coincidence. They’ve been building for years, and the results are showing.” However, he also pointed out that the race for the World Cup title is expected to be extremely tight.

“The only problem teams like India, Belgium faces is that there are five or six or seven more teams that are just as confident as we are,” he said. “That’s the beauty of international hockey at this moment — it’s very close at the top.” Van Doren also had high praise for Indian players’ technical ability, especially the younger generation coming through the ranks. “One of the impressive things about Indians is that they are busier with hockey than any country in the world,” he said. “You see that they want to learn, they want to play, and they want to progress.”

“In terms of skills, it speaks for itself. You see how skilled they are and how early they develop those skills.” Van Doren believes such maturity comes with experience and regular exposure to top-level competition, something the Indian players are increasingly getting. “They watch, they learn, and they try to improve every day...Sometimes not going for an action is already a win,” he said.

Looking ahead to the World Cup, Van Doren said every top nation will arrive with confidence, making the tournament unpredictable. “You can be very confident about your own progress, but so can many other teams...That’s what makes it exciting,” he said. The World Cup will jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium from August 14 to 30 next year.  Van Doren is set to return for his second season with the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in the Hockey India League (HIL).

The 31-year-old said the franchise is determined to improve after a mixed campaign last year, despite being the highest-scoring side in the competition.  “I’m very excited to rejoin the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers for the second season of the HIL...I’m very much looking forward to try to make a better second season than the first.”

Van Doren admitted that defensive lapses cost the team dearly last season. “We scored the most goals in the competition, but we struggled in some key areas and conceded a little bit too many corners,” he said. “If we eliminate that problem, I think we will eliminate half of the problems already.”