With the exit of Graham Reid submit the disappointing end result on the not too long ago concluded World Cup in Odisha, Hockey India’s (HI) main activity is to nominate the following chief coach of the boys’s nationwide hockey group.
With the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games – qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics – solely seven months away, hiring a coach on the earliest for the Olympic bronze medallists is a precedence.
The National Sports Federation (NSF) has already marketed with February 15 being the final date of submitting functions for the vacant submit. Among a bunch of international coaches, one title doing the rounds is former India coach Harendra Singh.
“The Pro League and Asian Games are the two major events this year. We are focussed on the latter as winning the event will get India an automatic berth in the Paris Olympics. We have many names for discussion and Harendra is among them,” a key HI functionary stated on situation of anonymity. “Harendra has a proven track record with the junior team and has a good chance to train the Indian team once again.”
Harendra guided the Indian males’s junior group to victory on the 2016 Junior World Cup following which he was made coach of the senior group too, teaching them until the 2018 World Cup the place India exited within the quarter-finals. He was additionally coach of the 2017 Asia Cup gold medal profitable Indian ladies’s group. Harendra was changed by Reid in 2019.
However, the 54-year-old Harendra, who’s at the moment the top coach of the United States of America males’s group, refused to remark however not earlier than advocating for an Indian to teach the nationwide males’s group as he felt that homegrown coaches have higher understanding with gamers.
“Look at the teams in the recent World Cup where most teams had their own coaches. A homegrown coach for India is a must as he has better understanding of every individual as our players come from different backgrounds, culture and environment,” he stated.
He advised that for technical experience HI ought to appoint a excessive efficiency director. “For that job I would love to see Australian legend Ric Charlesworth once again. I have worked with him and find him the best person for this post. Where all the world’s coaches stop thinking, he begins from there. The man is a master in getting the best out of players,” he stated.
Harendra additionally praised former HI president Narinder Batra for giving an enormous fillip to Indian hockey because the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG), including that the Hockey India League (HIL) ought to be restarted because it helped Indian gamers achieve expertise of rubbing shoulders with prime Europeans and Australians.
“Undoubtedly, Batra has taken Indian hockey where it is supposed to be. India’s recent journey stated with the 2010 CWG. We saw professionalism, money, maximum exposure. HIL was a big plus as our players got to learn many new things,” he added.
Harendra advised launching a brand new home league and likewise the revival of state hockey leagues. “I am saddened to see the poor state of hockey leagues in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. If we have regular domestic leagues like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, we will have a huge number of players across the country. See the strong domestic structure of foreign teams as they spot talent through that setup,” he stated.
Terming the conduct of National Championships in all age teams simply as an ‘annual honest’, Harendra stated HI ought to divide the home construction in 5 zones as North, South, West, East and Central and conduct leagues as it might maintain our gamers busy for 8-9 months a yr. The league would additionally then function a variety system.
“Follow the sample of Ranji Trophy cricket the place all groups are outfitted with prime coaches, physios, video analysts, masseurs, yoga academics and so forth. The revival of academies can also be a should as the sport has modified solely and our home coaches ought to discover ways to connect science with the sport. In India we use an outdated system and our home coaches neither need to study the significance of science in hockey and its correct makes use of,” stated Harendra.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
