PR Sreejesh tells Abhishek Purohit that CWG medal has given confidence to youngsters
How would you sum up Indian team’s performance in GlasgowIJ
It was a good tournament. I think we deserved the silver medal to a certain extent. All the players performed well. So, it was a good tournament for us. We lost to an Australian team which was too good in the final. But considering the teams that we played and how we performed, we should be credited for our effort.
How much importance this medal holds for the teamIJ
Our’s is a young team with a lot of new members. So, it’s good for the confidence of the team to repeat the second-best finish in the consecutive CWG and contribute to India’s medal tally.
India gave a good fight to the Australians in the league game but lost rather meekly in the final.
During the league game we were trailing 0-3 but we came back in the second-half with two quick goals and later on went on to lose 2-4. But in the final, we didn’t make most of our chances and against the world champions, we can’t afford to make even a minor mistake. But both the games were a learning experience for the players.
What was the difference between the team’s performance in the CWG and the World CupIJ
In the CWG, a couple of seniors (Gurwinder Chandi and Danish Mujtaba) made their comeback in the team and all our main players were available. We benefitted from these two factors. Talking about the World Cup, we didn’t get the results we wanted. I think we had played well at times and but the consistency was missing.
What are the positives to build on for the Asian GamesIJ
Our primary aim for the Glasgow event was improvement. I think we have shown that we have improved. As compared to the World Cup, our penalty corner conversion rate was better in Glasgow and we defended very strongly. Similarly, we didn’t concede last-moment goals this time. And if you watch our semi-final match against New Zealand who are higher-ranked than us, the improvement was clearly visible. They took the 2-0 lead and we fought back to equalize and win the game 3-2. That was a very good game. Our defence handled the pressure nicely because we played with nine players in the last 10 minutes.
What are the areas where the team need improvementIJ
We have to improve a lot in every department. We need to be more consistent with our ball possession. In this tournament we conceded early goals and that can be solved with better concentration and focus. Right now it’s not easy to take on top-three teams. But against teams who are below top-three, we can be highly competitive against them.
How do you see the challenge at the Asian GamesIJ
It is a big tournament which will give us direct qualification to Olympics. We will analyse our recent performance and try to improve our skills. We have a national camp coming up (from August 14) in Delhi and we need to be ready for the Asiad as we will face strong teams like Korea and Pakistan.
For the first time in the history of the international hockey, matches will be played in four quarters (17.30 minutes) format. Do you feel that India will have the advantage of probably being the only team in the continent with most number of players exposed to the new formatIJ
I don’t think it will be an advantage because as a national team, it will be new to us as well. And we know that we will get more recovery time and more time to plan but it will be same for other teams as well. It will be more competitive and scorelines will grow due to the quick and fast-paced nature of the format.
You don’t have a real competition in the team. Is it good or badIJ
I think it both. It is good in the sense that in some tournaments like CWG, only one goalkeeper is allowed. So, the number one goalkeeper will go with the team. And it is bad considering that we must have good bench strength to grow as a team. We have two young custodians in Harjot Singh and Sushant Tirkey but they are very young and inexperienced. They need more exposure.
The Sports Authority of India will review the performance of head coach Terry Walsh and high performance director Roelant Oltmans after the Asian Games. And if India fail to win gold, either one or both of them might be sacked. How do you see this situation and does it make environment in the dressing room tenseIJ
look, pressure is on everyone. I don’t know about what decisions they will take and it’s not my business to talk about it. But I think a coach needs time to build a team and changing coaches at regular intervals is not good for the team.