CHENNAI: The Indian men’s team will likely be without a video analyst for the two-legged Olympic qualifier against their Russian counterparts next week. This is because Aadhithya Chakravarthy, who had been the side’s video analyst for more than three years, resigned after the Olympic test event in Japan in August.
It’s not yet known why Chakravarthy put in his papers so close to the qualifiers. Hockey India (HI) are yet to send a press release acknowledging the development. While it’s unlikely to affect the team’s chances at the qualifier considering the standard of their opponent — World No 22-ranked Russia lost 0-10 to India at the Series Finals in June — this will likely throw a spanner in their works in the long term. It’s not yet known if Amuthaprakash, the women’s team’s video analyst, will help out the men’s team in the short term.
Meanwhile, the women’s team will be without an analytical coach for their two-legged match against USA. This has been a long-standing gripe for Sjoerd Marijne and the continued absence of one will not please him for what is a big assignment for the team. This was confirmed after the list of support staff for the women’s side was uploaded on to the HI website.