After an average outing last year, Indian hockey team is looking forward to the new year and readying itself to face the tough competition ahead.
A slew of important tournaments are lined up for the Indian team — starting from final round Hockey World league (HWl) from January 10 to 18 followed by Hockey India league (HIl) from January 25, World Cup in May, Commonwealth Games in July and Asian Games in September. And for the long and arduous journey ahead, a good start is what they are looking for.
For the HWl, , which will witness top eight teams — Germany, Australia, Holland, England, Belgium, New Zealand and Argentina, they have already started the preparations under the watchful eyes of national chief coach Terry Walsh. India will play their first match against England on the opening day of the nine-day tournament
“HWl is important for us because it gives us a chance to play against the best in the world and that happens rarely. So it’s a fantastic opportunity for us. I believe that we’ve been slowly moving along the track that has been set in recent months. This tournament will also give us a chance to prepare for the World Cup and the Asian Games. So, we are happy with where we are and at this point in time we are really all prepared for the HWl, though competition-wise and format-wise, it is going to be a tough tournament for us,” Walsh told media persons after Indian team’s practice session on Friday.
As all the top teams will be vying for the honours, India, who didn’t qualify for the finals but got the entry for being the host nation, don’t have a very bright chance of finishing on podium but what Walsh is looking to achieve from this tournament is improvement.
“There are not really any goals other than improvement. We are trying to play a style of hockey which takes the best aspects of the Indian game and combine it with the best of other countires, similar to what Australia have done in the past and Belgium are doing now,” he reckons.
Walsh feels that his team needs improvement in goal-scoring and finishing techniques.
“We have significant problems with our goal scoring technique. I have not met an Indian yet who does not swing from above the shoulder. They need to learn to hit it from waist height. The boys are talented enough to get into any international team in terms of skills. We are lacking in understanding the technical and tactical issues. So, we need serious improvements apart from the basic fitness standards,” he signed off.