BHUBANESWAR: There was a time when officials running hockey in the country didn't pay too much attention to the next generation. The year was 2011, Michael Nobbs had just been appointed and the senior men's team weren't even assured of qualifying for the Olympics in 2012. Even in this backdrop, the powers that were running the game had an apathy towards developing the juniors.
The politics in the sport resulted in Hockey India not even sending a team for the Under-18 Asia Cup in Singapore in 2011. The logic was that the meet wasn't recognised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). It was wrong because it was an event played under the aegis of the international body.
That was the kind of attitude adopted towards youth development. Even as the elite started looking at exclusive policies geared towards establishing a feasible pathway for the juniors to transition towards the senior setup — for example, it was around 2011 when Belgium's development accelerated because of a focus on youth and their development — Indian authorities stuck to principles that wouldn't have been out of place in the Middle Ages.
In 2021, that's no longer the case. Youth is an active buzzword and that was evident when the senior management selected the squad for the Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, slated to begin on December 14. PR Sreejesh was given a rest, the oldest in the 20 was skipper Manpreet Singh (29), the average age of the squad was 24.5 and eight of the 20 were 23 or under. As far as recent history is concerned, that's one of the youngest senior teams India will ever take to a big event. 'If you are good enough, you are old enough' is the mantra.
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"While selecting this team we now must have our eyes on the future," Reid had said after selecting the Bangladesh-bound side. "It takes a deep and strong squad to build sustained success so players have to be given opportunities to perform."
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Forward Maninder Singh sustained a hamstring injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament before the quarterfinal against Belgium. It was a blow in the sense that Maninder had earned the implicit trust of the management. He knew what was expected of him and with India pivoting to a systems-based approach where collective trumps the individual, it's important to ensure continuity.
The player who replaced him was Boby Singh Dhami. He started the game and slotted in seamlessly with his constant running and in sync pressing with the forward line. The first five minutes clearly suggested that the hosts wouldn't miss Maninder. At some level, that reflects the depth, both in quality and quantity, that the Colts have built up over the last five to six years.
Dhami, lest it be forgotten, like other young Indians, hadn't played a competitive fixture for over two years. Yet, he played like a man, a boy, really, who had never been away from the turf. Going forward, thanks to a newly implemented HI policy from 2021, there will be more kids like Dhami in the system.
HI's decision to expand the nationals is to give more Colts an opportunity to get to the national stage. The nationals now have a clear demarcation: for example, juniors will play nationals according to their Academies, Departments or States. No duplication is allowed so if a player plays for a department, he cannot turn out for the academy or for the State.
The ones who impress (usually around 55 or 60 of the best are selected) in these tournaments are brought to a camp at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru. The list is pruned to 30-odd before the players begin to lead an often hermetic life inside the campus for the next 2-3 years till they become 21 or above.
A pathway like this means by the time they come to the camp, they are all mostly first among equals. It's working. Out of the 20 players in the junior World Cup squad, more than a dozen first walked into the national camp in November 2019.
These players are also given the same facilities and infrastructure as the seniors to get better. They have their own dedicated full-time staff including assistant coaches who keep working on their game. At the 2016 junior World Cup in Lucknow, for instance, the 18 juniors were accompanied by 10 support staff.
In Bhubaneswar, the 20 players are with eight support staff.
To put it in some sort of proper perspective, Hockey India sent more support staff for their junior team than their senior side (seven accompanied them for the World Cup in 2018).
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The one common complaint that's been raised by all 16 teams is how the Covid-19 pandemic ruined already under-funded junior programmes. Some teams couldn't meet for 20 months. Other countries saw players involved in individualised training before meeting up for a one-off camp. A few teams like Germany had players practicing in small groups. India's quibble was that, like most other non-European outfits, they hadn't played a single game since the end of 2019.
However, their junior programme wasn't hit. All the players remained in camp apart from the few months when the pandemic raged in the country. All of them trained, practiced and lived under one roof, ensuring they were never denied access to the facilities and infrastructure. They also got help from all coaches and support staff who remained in situ. This has helped continue their development at such a crucial juncture of their careers.
The effect of continuing their hockey education has been seen prominently in this team over the last 10 days. They didn't let their heads drop after the defeat to France and showed their clinical efficiency from dragflicks in games against Canada and Poland. What's most pleasing, though, is that they seem to be mature beyond their age. The calmness and discipline against Belgium set the platform and it began with the two goalkeepers, especially Pawan.
Reid, who is reticent to single out players, took time out to namecheck them. "Both of them impressed me tonight," he said after the game on Wednesday. "They both played well... if that means they go further along in their careers, that's great. Goalkeeping is like any other position. It's creating competitiveness and that's what I want to see in these two. They challenge each other, it's very nice to see."
Goalkeeping has been a problem area in terms of depth — there is an alarming drop-off in quality after PR Sreejesh — but Pawan and Prashant Chauhan have shown it's not threadbare.
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In 2011, HI didn't even send an age-group side believing it was a junk event. Ten years later, they are a federation that's investing serious money in age-group hockey. Both men's and women's under-21 teams go on multiple exposure trips per year. They have also hosted each of the last three junior men's World Cups.
The question now is can the Class of 2021 repeat what the Class of 2016 did?