The BDO Junior World Cup was held in Cambridge, MA, at Harvard University’s Jordan Field from August 3, 2009 through August 16, 2009. India fielded its team of 18 players all under 21 years of age and a few players as young as 15 years old, led by their coach Mr. M. K. Kaushik, an Olympic field hockey gold medalist, manager Ms. S. Pathak and Mr. Vikas Dhawan the sports physio. Although favored to feature in the top four, a couple of losses saw the Indians end the tournament in ninth place, up a couple of spots from the last time when they finished 11th.

I had a chance to speak to the team after their final 2-0 victory over New Zealand, and asked them their impressions of the tournament, the team, the competition and the pressing issues in Indian field hockey. Here are some of their comments

Mr. Kaushik:
On the tournament: World Cup and Olympic tournaments are very important for field hockey. It was a good opportunity for India to be exposed to international competition, to see the best teams play, observe their tactics and see how they are managed. The team learns a lot from these games and it is only by playing in these tournaments that India can improve its standing, not by staying at home and playing against weak teams.

On the team: India and Pakistan play an entirely different kind of hockey, based on deceptive passes and skills like dodging. Unfortunately, over time we have declined in our ability to perfect this game and on an off day we make errors. Opponents notice this and take advantage of us.

On other team’s capabilities: Other teams have a lot of facilities at their disposal like software that helps them analyze an opposing team and have people who look at the videos of the games and help the teams to prepare tactically for a game. Also, the mentality of the players is also very important and players are taught from early on how to mentally prepare for a game. Indian skill coupled with advanced tactics can give us better results. Our players may be smaller physically, but they are just as tough as the opponents.

Expectations, shortcomings and accomplishments: We have one major shortcoming; we give away too many penalty corners and don’t tackle opposing players in the circle. A lot of the goals scored against us came not from the opponents’ skill but from our mistakes.

What does India need to regain its glory: In India we plan well but execute and implement poorly. We need a lower level long-term development plan. We need international level facilities.

What can we as NRI’s do to help: I am delighted that NRIs want to contribute to hockey in India. In the near term we cold use very simple things like walkie talkies so observers in the stand can communicate instantaneously with the coach to formulate real time strategy. Video taping equipment, software are all items the teams in India need desperately. In the longer term NRIs can fund the formation of academies in India to foster the spread of field hockey. If we get these simple things, within two years we can be a top contender in hockey. We have the talent; we need the belief in ourselves that we can do this.

Ms. S. Pathak:
On the tournament: The tournament has been organized very well and very effectively. Sadly, India has not been able to live up to their potential. The refereeing has been a little biased against us. We need to make sure that Hockey India takes this up with the FIH.

Observations about the team: India needs to improve the physical ability of its players, especially in terms of strength. The game is now a power game and we need to train our players accordingly. But we need to play Indian hockey, and be better at it.

Mr. Vikas Dhawan:
Ability of Indian Players: When we play our game well, we can beat any team in the world. I understand out players are physically smaller, but when it comes to playing on the field, we are not far behind the European teams. We impart world-class training to the team. But we lack professional physical trainers who can teach us advanced routines.

Improving the physical training of the players:  We need advanced physical training and we need to train our coaches in these techniques like explosive strength. We can also get a world-class trainer to come to India and train our coaches and players.

On style of play: Interestingly, other teams are adopting Indian style hockey – look at Argentina, they play Indian hockey. We are not able to implement our style fully but our style is what is winning games today. This is why FIH is behind India to promote hockey. Look at Netherlands, they are playing Indian style hockey.

What can we do to help: Boost the morale of the players. You can help financially; most of the players come from weak economic backgrounds. Most of the rich in India are not playing hockey. Not much money is flowing into the game. As NRIs you can pump some money into the game. I strongly feel that prize money, sponsorships, can all help the players.

Captain Ranjita Devi Thockchom; Joydeep Kaur Saggu:
On the tournament: it was a great tournament, but we are sad on one level because we did not win some crucial games.

Style: There is some luck involved in the game, maybe we can’t win every game every day. But we have to minimize our mistakes. We are capable of beating any team here, we are clearly the better team here. But we give away too many penalty corners, which costs us games. We need some extra training in these areas.

Help from NRIs: We need funds to go and play overseas teams like New Zealand and Holland. We need the exposure and the practice of playing these teams. We need more facilities in India to practice and play.

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