While many of the Indian males’s hockey crew gamers and employees took a break after the disappointing outing within the European leg of the FIH Pro League, assistant coach Shivendra Singh landed straight again on the SAI Centre, Bengaluru.
As in-charge of the India-A facet on its two-week tour of Europe in opposition to the highest groups later this week, Shivendra can have an opportunity to place the teachings learnt to good use. He admitted that the Pro League was a disappointing marketing campaign, but added there were issues past management that contributed to it.
“We had issues right from the start. The original plan was to be together in Ireland and play three or four practice matches, develop a team plan and then go for the Pro League. But that didn’t happen. There were visa issues, five or six players and a staff member landed late directly for the competition. Travelling was staggered, some of them coming after the first couple of matches, and it disturbed the whole planning,” Shivendra informed The Hindu.
Shivendra.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: M. VEDHAN
“We didn’t have Lalit (Upadhyay) and Gurjant Singh for the initial games, and we had to rework the entire set-up. It was an unsettled start. It got better towards the end, and that was visible in our performances. So, given everything, it was ok,” he insisted.
Injuries didn’t assist both, with captain Harmanpreet Singh lacking matches and Gurjant returning nearly instantly.
“Of course, it affects when the leader is not playing three to four matches. Harman got a back injury and was then hit on the finger. He couldn’t even hold the stick. We had limited resources, only four or five players in forward and barely any substitutes. Of course, none of it is an excuse, and everyone is disappointed; it was a good chance to qualify for the World Cup. But our focus now is completely on the Asia Cup at home,” he added.
Asked in regards to the seven-match shedding streak, Shivendra admitted it was a tricky one to simply accept.
“We have to remember that, barring Argentina which surprised us, the rest are top three-four teams in the world. We know expectations are high from this team. Losing consecutive games does affect your confidence. But we try to ensure the pressure does not reach the players because that will only make things worse. We were also trying new ideas in these games, and there were positives,” he mentioned.
About the India-A facet, the previous India striker mentioned the primary goal was to create a robust bench for the National facet.
“The squad is a mix of seniors and juniors. A new player, even when training with the National team, cannot suddenly jump in for important competitions… he needs to adjust to that level. This tour will give these players an idea of the competition at the top,” he defined.
