The latest 0-5 drubbing however, former drag-flick specialist Rupinder Pal Singh feels the Olympic-bound Indian males’s hockey workforce can counter Australia’s aggressive fashion of play with better defensive coordination and a few innovative passing.
India had been blanked within the five-Test sequence in Perth some days in the past, a disappointing outing for the workforce, which did fairly effectively within the FIH Pro League earlier than that and is predicted to better or match its bronze from Tokyo Olympics on the Paris Games in July-August.
Singh, who was a part of the 2014 Asian Games gold-winning facet, is just not too involved by the ultimate consequence as he felt the workforce stored bettering with each recreation.
“We lost the first match 5-1, after that the team improved and the score-lines were close, we missed some chances, some work needs to be done prior to the Olympics. The series was a preparation for Paris Olympics, as new variations and players were tried out,” he advised PTI Videos.
Asked how ought to the workforce counter Australia’s attacking fashion of play, he stated innovative passing may do the trick.
“Australia’s hard press can be countered, high level of coordination is required for that, defender-to-defender ball transfer, quick passes from defenders to the mid-field, overhead passes would be useful in countering such a style of play,” the 33-year-old urged.
He sees no fault in India’s reliance on penalty corners for scoring.
“…all international teams, all are dependent on penalty corners — the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia. Defences have become stronger, here PC conversion is such an important tool that in every match about 1-2 goals have to be scored from them,” he identified.
He described present India captain Harmanpreet Singh as among the best drag-flickers in he world.
He was, nonetheless, involved concerning the penalty nook conversion fee of the ladies’s workforce, which is looking for to rebuild itself after its beautiful failure to qualify for the Olympics.
“That’s a worry(Penalty corner conversion), its penalty corner is an important tool in today’s hockey we need to work on that,” he stated.
Singh was talking on the sidelines of a three-day coaching program organised by Hockey India. It was additionally attended by former India goalkeeper Yogita Bali, alongside with India goalkeepers Adrian D’Souza, Bharat Chetri, Helen Mary, Dipika Murty, Akash Chikte, and PT Rao.
Apart from Singh, the opposite eminent former India drag-flickers who attended the coaching had been Gurjinder Singh, VR Raghunath, and Jaspreet Kaur.
The former stars have drawn up a curriculum on the fundamentals of drag-flicking and goalkeeping which might be carried out throughout all academies and centres within the nation.
Future vivid for girls’s hockey
Despite the Olympic heartbreak, ladies’s hockey will do effectively, in keeping with bali, who picked Manipur’s Bichu Devi Kharibam because the successor for long-serving goalkeeper Savita Punia.
“In Bengaluru, we trained with top six goalkeepers of India, and I found Bichhu to be the best in India after Savita. She could be India’s number one after Savita,” Bali stated.
Bali stated Indian ladies’s hockey has grown by leaps and bounds lately.
“Compared to when I started playing, there are a lot more facilities, now there are scientific advisors, nutrition experts to help the development of the players.
“Earlier Indian Railways was the distinguished employment supplier for hockey gamers, now a number of departments are providing jobs, so issues are going effectively,” she stated.
