CHENNAI: As the evening settled in different hues, a cool breeze kept blowing across the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium. It was cool by Chennai standards but enough to make players from different parts of the world comfortable during practice. Players were going through their rituals as a handful of people were busy with last-minute checks on Thursday.
The blue astro-turf was shining under the lights and the stadium itself seemed like an oasis cut off from the din of a railway station and numerous shops close by. Each time the stadium gets a makeover, it’s time for hockey celebration in the city. This time the Junior Hockey World Cup is in town. The tournament begins on Friday with defending champions Germany taking on South Africa in a Pool A match at Madurai in the morning. Hosts India play Chile in a Pool B match at Chennai late in the evening.
For those under 21 players representing their respective countries, this is the stage where they would love to excel and progress to the next level. India players too would be looking for such a dream script but the competition will throw up its own challenges. For relatively new player-turned coach PR Sreejesh, this competition will be as big as the Paris Olympics.
This was evident from the way Sreejesh started preparing for this big test. He was serious and wanted the players to train in earnest. Even Hockey India had given him a free hand. Last time India hosted the junior World Cup in 2021, senior coach Graham Reid was put in charge. India finished fourth. Sreejesh would be looking to improve on that.
Though the first match is against a lower-ranked team, Chile, Sreejesh felt no match is easy. “On that particular day, performance really matters. So it is really important for them (India) to raise their level up. Rather than expecting them to play in a high intensity mode, they need to keep that tone up. I tell the boys that we need to keep our rhythm high," he said during a press briefing on Thursday. Placed in a relatively comfortable group, India would want to finish on top so that they enter the quarterfinals directly.
There are quite a few wrinkles that needed to be ironed out too. India came off a final defeat to Australia in October's Sultan of Johor Cup. One area that needs to be addressed will be the lack of conversion of penalty corners. When asked, Sreejesh admitted and spoke about the weaknesses. "We trained hard after that tournament,” he said. “I am not going to give you any excuses behind the lack of scoring but when you look at the other teams there their scoring rate was not that great because of some issues with the ground," he said, adding the team practiced hard and would look to improve on the conversion rate.
Captain of India junior team Rohit Yadav said the team is confident of doing well. The team reached Chennai on November 18 and has been practicing here. Rohit said they got the feel of the place and would hope to cash in on home advantage and support. “We tried to keep our rhythm high,” he said.
Sreejesh has been with the team for over a year and has made a few adjustments to get the most out of his players. He said it is better for 40 players to make adjustments with him rather than him making adjustments with them. "Definitely, it took me time to adjust with coaching,” he said. “All the advice that I received from experienced coaches; they told me 'okay you need to really treat them in a better way so that they can perform well’."
The captain has a different take on this. “When he is on the field, we are a bit scared because he is angry, but when he goes to the top, we are a bit relaxed," said Rohit light-heartedly. Srejeesh interrupted saying, "Nahin, tumhara haath mein nahin hain! (No, that is not in your hands) coach has to stay either on top or stay angry."
With India hosting the junior World Cup, the pressure to perform to their potential would be more this time. With good preparation and support, the team is expected to go the distance.