BHOPAL, 25 October — Indian hockey team which seems to be on a revival course is soon likely to be put under a foreign coach to fine tune its shortcomings. The former Olympian-turned-politician Aslam Sher Khan, who was the manager of the Indian team in the recently concluded Champions Trophy in Cologne and Asian Games in Busan, announced here Tuesday that it has been strongly felt to appoint a foreign hockey coach, knowing the high-tech phase of international hockey, who can uncork the capabilities of the Indian team.
Addressing a press conference Aslam Sher, who is the chairman of Youth Hockey Development Committee equal to the status of vice president of Indian Hockey Federation, (IHF), said after following lately Indian hockey team from close quarters he has become a votary of handing over the reigns to a foreign coach. Senior hockey players like him, he candidly admitted, in the past always opposed the appointment of a foreign coach. But watching the national team closely and seeing the results the foreign coaches are producing in other disciplines in India there has been a turn around in approach, he pointed out.
Answering a query he said IHF president KPS Gill has been briefed about the issue of foreign coach and he has agreed to the proposal. The present lot of Indian players have immense potentialities and are capable of winning the World Cup and the Olympic gold medal if the last five minute syndrome of the match is overcome by the players, he asserted.
Exuding with confidence Aslam Sher explained that recently it has been observed that Indian team in the last five minutes of the match wilted and gave away few matches which they were sure to win. In the last five-minute syndrome the players did not adjust themselves accordingly but continued to indulge in the same fashion as they had sweated out earlier in the 65 minutes of the game. This often led to a negative end result. The two defenders in the last five minutes, when the team is leading, should adopt delaying tactics and often put the ball out of play so that the danger in the final moments is thwarted. Similarly, at least two players in the forward line should follow suit, he added.
When asked as to how the fortune of Indian team has started showing an upswing, he said in a lighter vein "Bhopal Mantara has been whispered in the players’ ears."
He told a questioner that Indian team holds an edge over Pakistan as the former can now adopt a mixture of both Asian and European styles of play while the later is sticking to only the Asian pattern.
While admitting that in the past there may have been some bias on the selection of Indian team, he said, the foreign coach, apart from introducing European know-how, would be a neutral entity in the matter. The players coming from all over the country vying to don national colors would all be equal in his eyes. The selection then should be perfectly fair one, he remarked.
He opined that one of the reasons of Indian team lagging behind in the international arena is the vegetarian food habit of the players which plays an important role in their performance on the field. Not satisfied with the food provided at the international tourneys, players’ enthusiasm and zeal is affected which has its bearing on the result of the match. For this, he said, he would appeal to the government to ask Sports Authority of India to make available the continental food in the camps so that the players get accustomed to such food habits before going to play abroad.
He informed that IHF would be organizing Central Zone hockey tourney in Bhopal shortly so that the players of this region, who feel neglected, can exhibit their talent and strive to don national colors. The five teams of the region would be Madhya Bharat Hockey Association, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Association, Chhattisgarh Hockey Association, Vidharbha Hockey Association and Bhopal Hockey Association.
Replying to a questioner, he said hockey in Bhopal, which was once known as a nursery but is in doldrums since nearly a decade, would also be revived. For this the Bhopal Hockey Association, (BHA), president PN Chaturvedi would be urged to announce to hold elections of BHA, which are long over due. If within a fortnight the elections are not announced then a high level delegation from Bhopal would call on IHF president KPS Gill to intervene and do the needful. In fact he refused to recognize Chaturvedi and described him as irrelevant for the development of hockey in Bhopal. The reigns of BHA after elections should be handed over to those who can deliver the goods, he declared.
