CHENNAI: In one of the first full-length interviews Graham Reid had given after taking charge as senior men’s coach of the Indian hockey team, he was clear in what was expected of him and what he set out to do. “I want to take Indian hockey back to where it belongs,” he had told this daily while sitting in a coffee shop in Bhubaneswar in June 2019. While Hockey India (HI) liked what they heard, they demanded something more measured. Bring us stability.
While the next three weeks will give the perfect indication as to whether the Australian has taken Indian hockey back to where it belongs, he has already brought in a stable environment. There is no constant churn, the players he has selected for the Games have been with the core probables at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus for at least a few years. Crucially, though, Reid himself is still here, in a job that’s the proverbial poisoned chalice.
There is no other job like that of the ‘India’s senior men’s hockey coach’ in the sport. It pays extremely well. But, pressure wise, it’s extremely high. Sample this: Reid is the first person to keep this posting for more than 26 months this century. Even if some of that is down to an absence of blue-ribbon standalone FIH events for a trigger friendly HI to consider his position, the main reason why Reid has kept his posting is simple. He secured India’s berth at the Olympics with a minimum of fuss apart from winning multiple matches against elite opposition in the Pro League in 2020: the biggest FIH event if you discount the World Cup and Olympics.
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India’s men’s hockey problem is an open secret. When the going gets tough, they refuse to get going. It’s in present tense because they haven’t played in enough high-quality ties in the last two years. However, the signs under Reid have been encouraging. The one reason why India are World No 4 is because they have shown character to rescue lost causes.
A few numbers to support this (only Pro League matches since January 2020). Out of the six matches they won (including three via a shootout), they went behind four times, including twice in as many days against Australia. However, they fought back rather than throwing in the towel. Whenever they used to trail in big games, they lost shape in the hunt for goals. This team under Reid doesn’t do that. Reid has also taught the team to win against the biggest nations: they have beaten Belgium, Australia, Netherlands and Argentina in the last 18 months.
That is why they are quietly confident ahead of the Olympics. There is no talk of medalling, not yet anyway. What they are confident of is not just holding their own but competing against the four biggest teams: Belgium, Australia, Argentina and Netherlands. Two — Australia and Argentina — of them are in the same group.
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When the EuroHockey Nations Championship began on June 5, Sjoerd Marijne was glued to his TV set. It gave the women’s coach the rare opportunity to look at other teams’ structure, tactics and players during the pandemic.
“I’m watching the EuroNations. It would be great if we also had these matches. But yeah, I can think days about this but it’s not going to happen,” he had told this daily then. For all the preparations by the men’s and women’s hockey teams, there is no getting around what a disaster it has been for the teams. They have had to cancel exposure trips and Pro League matches because of the coronavirus situation. While other teams have played practice as well as competitive matches in the last few months, both the Indian sides have been confined to home, playing selection matches against themselves. It’s not ideal, but like the Dutchman says, ‘it is what it is’.
One thing that’s for sure is that this is a much better side than the one that turned up at Rio. In Brazil, the women’s team, playing at that level for the first time in 36 years, scored thrice, conceded 19, drew one and finished last. They have been on a journey since then. It included a silver at the Asian Games, a quarterfinals at the World Cup, a fourth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games and a heart-stopping win over the US side that saw them qualify.
They have also revamped their squad, with extreme emphasis on fitness (their yo-yo scores is at par with the best in the world). All that means their attitude has changed. They no longer go into big games hoping against hope. They go into them believing they have it in them to control the outcome. Marijne saw it first hand during the two tours they have had this year: Argentina and Germany. “In the past, girls have gone into matches with an ‘okay, let’s keep the score low’. At the moment, they go into these matches thinking ‘we can win these matches’.
That attitude is vital. Beginning with their first match against Netherlands.
Know your sport
men’s squad
Goalkeeper: PR Sreejesh; Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra; Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit; Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh
women’s squad
Goalkeeper: Savita; Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Udita; Midfielders: Nisha, Neha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Navjot Kaur, Salima Tete; Forwards: Rani, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi.
Hockey
Dates July 24-Aug 6 Oi Seaside Park
Paths to victory
Plenty of optimisim
A medal has proved elusive for India since winning gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but many believe that India have the best chance in many years at securing a podium finish this time. The men are placed in Pool A alongside defending champions Argentina, World No 1 Australia, New Zealand, Spain and hosts Japan. While they have shown in the recent past that they can beat the top teams in the world, including Argentina in the FIH Pro League in April, it remains to be seen whether a squad that features 10 Olympic debutants can raise its game when it matters most.
Seeking next big step
The women’s team has made giant strides since finishing bottom of the table in the 2016 Rio Olympics. But it is time to show evidence of that and take the next big step in their evolution. The girls will have their task cut out as they are drawn in Group A alongside defending champs Great Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and South Africa. Barring South Africa, all the other teams in the group have a higher ranking. Since making the cut for the Olympics in 2019, the women have only scored nine goals in 11 matches. If they are to advance to the latter stages, they will have to find a way to be more incisive going forward.
men’s squad
Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg)
women’s squad
MC Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg)
Boxing
Dates July 24-Aug 8 Ryogoku Kokugikan
Paths to victory
High expectations
Amit Panghal goes into the Tokyo Olympics as World No 1 in the men’s flyweight (52kg) category. Among the nine Indian boxers who will compete in Tokyo, Panghal is the only pugilist to receive top billing by the IOC’s Boxing Task Force. Naturally then, the 25-year-old from Haryana carries high expectations on his shoulders. The 2018 Asian Games gold medallist will have to be wary of Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, considering that Panghal has lost all his three meetings with the World No 5.
Mary eyeing top show
Among the women, a lot of the focus is bound to be on veteran MC Mary Kom. The 38-year-old from Manipur has everything possible barring an Olympic gold. So she’ll be determined to use all her experience and go all the way. She won silver in the Asian Boxing Championship in May, but it remains to be seen whether she can better her feat of winning bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.