Sultan Azlan Shah Cup | Why coachless India will not go into the tournament as favourites
The Indian men’s hockey team will start a fresh year with the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament which will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from March 23. However, the men’s team has its own share of problems before starting their campaign in 2019 with only a year left for the Olympics.
Nothing is going right for the Indian hockey team since the quarter-final loss against the Netherlands in the World Cup which was held in December last year. Harendra Singh was shown the doors after the tournament and the Hockey India is yet to appoint a chief coach for the side which is all set to begin a fresh year with Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in a few days. As it is said by many hockey players and experts that 2019 will be very crucial for Indian hockey as the team will look forward to earning a place in the 2020 Olympics after failing to get a direct entry as they lost the semi-final battle in the previous Asian Games.
The biggest concern for the Manpreet Singh-led side will be the absence of proper guidance during the event in Malaysia as Hockey India has not appointed a new chief coach since Harendra’s departure in January. The decision was scheduled to be announced before February 28 after the deadline was extended from January 31. However, the 18-man Indian squad had to leave for Malaysia without a chief coach being appointed by the board before the start of the six-nation tournament. Now, however, there are media reports that former Australia hockey player Graham Reid is in line to be appointed as the next head coach of the Indian Hockey team.
The team has
“David John has been involved in the Indian hockey for a long time now as he was the trainer and then the HPD. He knows about the players and their stamina and physical fitness. No doubt, he can work on the fitness and all those aspects of a player related to that. But, as far as the role of a chief coach is concerned, he will not be able to manage that is what I feel,” Olympian Lazarus Barla told SportsCafe.
“He is mainly a trainer and has never worked as a coach. Although he can make one or two strategies
John’s relationship with some of the senior players has been bad ever since he took over the responsibility as the HPD. He was even dropped from the selection panel by Hockey India after the team’s poor show at the Asian Games. The Hockey India president Mushtaque Ahmad had expressed his disappointment with John talking to the media openly about some players last year. With the issues surrounding him, it remains to be seen how he can manage the team properly in Ipoh.
Another major factor which will haunt the Indian team during the tournament is the absence of some of its key members during the season opener in Ipoh. A comparatively young side will be
“It is unfortunate we will be missing some key players for the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 due to injury. However, it is important for them to return to 100
“It is a relatively young side but each of these players
The Indian team, which will start its campaign against Japan on March 23, will miss the services of experienced forwards SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, and defenders Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh as well as midfielder Chinglensana Singh as they were “unavailable” for selection due to injury. Junior players Vishal Antil and Pardeep Singh were also injured and the Hockey India had mentioned in a press release that the players will undergo rehabilitation in Bengaluru itself. Meanwhile, the Hockey India has informed today that Gurjant Singh has fractured his nose and will not be a part of the tournament. Gursahibjit Singh will make his senior India debut in the inexperienced forward line comprising Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh,
There was a break for the Indian team after the World Cup and most of the players represented their companies, where they are employed, during some of the domestic tournaments which can be attributed to injuries that they are carrying before the beginning of a fresh international season. The injuries to the players
It is an inexperienced Indian team without a chief coach that has arrived in Malaysia for the tournament and they will face a tough challenge from teams like Japan, Malaysia, and even Korea. The opponents are not that poor as they appear to be before the tournament. Although India is the highest-ranked team among all participating nations, it doesn’t have that firepower in the absence of some of the key players. On the other hand, Malaysia will have the confidence of playing in home conditions and the win against India at the Asian Games semi-final will be a big confidence booster for them. The Malaysian side has developed a lot under coach Roelant Oltmans who is well acquainted with most of the Indian players and their playing style.
Ranked 18 in the world, Japan can surprise any side on a given day and their recent exploits at the Asiad is a big testimony to that. The Asian Games gold medallist
Considering the importance of the tournament as per the history of the event and in the present context, it remains to be seen what India gains and what India loses in Ipoh. India will have to play the FIH Series Finals (Olympic qualifiers), which is scheduled to be played in June in
India has managed to win the prestigious title in Malaysia in 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2009 while in 2010, the Men in Blue had shared
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