CHENNAI: Indian hopes fly high in two-year circles whenever the Olympics or World Cup come around. More often, it as an emotional attachment to the national sport, rather than a professional assessment or a practical and honest overview.India is the only country which has won eight Olympic gold medals. But their World Cup history is not as great, with the last medal and only gold coming way back in 1975. After the Olympics gold in 1980, India has not won anything in hockey at the world level.
Captain of that 1980 team in Moscow, Vasudevan Baskaran is optimistic about India’s chances at the upcoming World Cup in Bhubaneswar. He thinks the hosts will be the dark horse to win the event. “On the personal invitation of (Odisha CM) Naveen Patnaik I was in Bhubaneswar for a couple of days. It’s the first state that has come forward to sponsor hockey. Everyone should take note of this and I hope other states follow. The game needs this kind of backing,” said Baskaran.
“Although some may have doubts about our organising ability, I can assure you that from what I have seen over the years, India has the capacity to organise any sport. Thanks to the various leagues in different sports, our marketing standards have gone up. I expect good support from our fans. Even people from abroad have shown interest. My friends from Australia and Argentina have booked tickets to be here for a month,” said the president of the Tamil Nadu Hockey Association.
Baskaran thinks there is not much of a home advantage in hockey. Barring support and weather to an extent, things are common for all teams. “In cricket, we can have home advantage in the form of the pitch and tactics based on that. The hot weather may help us because of familiarity. But it’s no major advantage because many teams are coming from summer, except for say Canada. So the conditions will not be a big advantage for us as hosts.”
The World Cup is a chance for players like PR Sreejesh, Birendra Lakra, Chinglensana Singh and skipper Manpreet Singh to shine in a big event and show the world that they have the temperament and wherewithal to play a high standard of hockey on the world stage. The focus will also be on the players who graduated after the 2016 junior World Cup win, like Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar. How they do in defence will be crucial. Penalty corner conversion has been a weak spot for India. There is no room for unforced errors, which can have a devastating effect in close games.
“Having played around 200 matches for the country, Manpreet has matured a lot and knows his job. We have been preparing well in advance for the tournament. But I feel there are loopholes in the absence of SV Sunil, who is an enterprising forward and one of the most feared players in the world. May be he is missing because of injury or he has been dropped. Manpreet will have a lot of headache in the forward line. We don’t have anyone who comes close or can play even 40% of Sunil. Mandeep, Akashdeep will have to shoulder extra burden,” felt Baskaran.
However, the 68-year-old believes that preparation and team work will help India. “We have take one match at a time. Start on a good note and then carry forward the momentum. We have been active in the last six months and had good exposure playing the Asian Games and other tournaments. Argentina, Canada and Belgium have not gone out and played many tournaments. But this doesn’t mean we can take them lightly. We have to rely on self belief and get the combination right on a given day. We must top our group. I would also like to believe we are the dark horse to win the tournament.’’
India has a perennial problem of conceding soft goals in the dying minutes. This has often made the difference between an ordinary finish and a place on the podium. “Our players too must realise that the match is not over till the final second. The last best chance we had to win a gold was in the Sydney Olympics where I was the coach. But we conceded at the fag end and our dreams vanished. This is all about mindset. We should not be complacent. Before the final whistle, one should not think that we are safe and relax. We have to fight till the last second,’’ cautioned Baskaran.
It will be a big moment and huge task for coach Harendra Singh, who has the experience and youthful knowledge of the latest techniques to translate theory into practice. He has a different style, than the likes of Baskaran and Rajinder Singh, in whose time he was an understudy as coach. Now with the era of foreign coaches coming to an end, it is time for Harendra to pass the litmus test and prove that Indian coaches are no less.
“Harendra is talented and knows the basics. But I would like him to adopt the style of Ravi Shastri. Like Shastri, he should be like a mentor and friend of the players and get the best out of them. In a tournament of this scale pressure is bound to be there. He should be able to diffuse it and create an atmosphere for the players to bounce back. Firing and shouting will not serve the purpose. One should handle the emotional side,’’ explained Baskaran.