CHENNAI: V Baskaran, under whose captaincy India won its last gold medal in hockey at Olympics, believes that the current men's team has a good chance to finish on the podium in the Tokyo Games. Of the 11 other participating teams in Tokyo, India have beaten all but Canada in the last two years. The Indian team never got a chance to play Canada in that period.
"This Indian hockey team is well prepared than the other participating teams. I strongly feel they should be on the podium. I will be disappointed if they fail. India is grouped in Pool A and they will be facing world no 1 Australia, defending champions Argentina, Spain and New Zealand. The first three teams are formidable but India can beat them if they maintain consistency," Baskaran said.
Speaking on the composition of the team, he said, "As for as the 16-member team is concerned, it was coach Graham Reid's choice. Going by the current performance, he (Reid) has opted to field more youngsters. Players who are agile and can stay fit throughout the tournament have got the nod. Maybe I think SV Sunil and Akashdeep were overlooked preferring young legs."
Adding further, the former India hockey coach said, "Our key players in the forward line are Mandeep Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay. In the midfield, skipper Manpreet Singh and Vivek Sagar along with Surender Singh will play a crucial role. Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Amit Rohidas will carry out the defensive duties while goalkeeper Sreejesh will guard the Indian post."
However, India has a history of fumbling in the dying minutes, which has cost them matches at big-ticket events. "The 2000 Sydney Games, when I was coach, was our best chance but that Poland match turned out to be a disaster. We couldn't keep the lead and conceded a goal in the dying minutes. We could not handle just 1 minute and 40 seconds. Mental strength plays a big role in such situations. I believe the solution is to keep the ball in the opponent's half, play a close marking game and avoid unforced errors. We must now focus on winning and forget the past," said the 70-year-old.
In the last decade or so there have been several coaches who have coached the Indian team. Each one had adopted a different style of play. But Baskaran said that there is no specific formula for success. "The Indian team is adopting 4-2-4 formation. Reid is focusing mostly on off-the-ball running, attacking, which is basically full press hockey. Having said that it all depends on how we combine and play as a unit on a given day."
Baskaran, however, said that it will be difficult to predict a dark horse this time given the situation due to the pandemic.
"There are no dark horses like in 2016 where Argentina and Belgium played the finals. Due to the Covid situation, it is difficult to say how things will go. India should aim to qualify for the quarterfinals. Our key strength is penalty corner conversion. At the same time, Sreejesh will be the key. Playing in Japan will suit us because of the climatic conditions, but due to restricted training, we may have to quickly find the rhythm. This Olympics is different with no social activities around, no spectators etc. Certainly, teams that have players with more mental strength will be the winners," Baskaran signed off.