JOIN US'India will get used to the pitch'
Indian hockey coach Michael Nobbs feels the blue pitch at the River Bank arena -- venue for the London Olympics hockey event -- is not a matter of great concern and the team will get used to it before the big bash as it has enough practice matches scheduled ahead of the Games.
The pitch came in for severe criticism from Australian coach Ric Charlesworth after key defender Graeme Begbie slipped during the team’s practice match against India on Tuesday and was ruled out with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee.
Australia had defeated India 12-1 in the practice game, with the Indians struggling to control the ball on the new surface. They fared better in their opening match of the Olympic test event on Wednesday, with the Aussies posting a comfortable 3-0 win.
“Yes, Begbie has been ruled out with ACL problem on the knee that he had repaired earlier,” Nobbs said. “The injury happened on this new pitch and, as I said it is slippery and bouncy and we will take some time to get used to it.”
When asked if the FIH has made a blunder in approving the blue and pink pitch for the Olympics without having trialled it in a major tournament, Nobbs refused to blame the world body. “No, the FIH has made a decision and by the time the Olympics comes around I hope they play sufficient games as to get the turf in shape. It just needs more games to get the newness out of it.”
“The players think the same as me. It's just going to take time to get used to the characteristics. We have 14 test games coming up in various places and I hope it is enough time for us to get Olympic-ready.”
Apart from the Olympic test event, India will be playing in the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia, which also will be played on a blue turf. The Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana too has a new blue turf and the Indians may well consider training there ahead of the Olympics.
Charlesworth, meanwhile, was quite critical about the London turf, saying that more than the colour, it was the quality that mattered.
“Every Olympics it's the same thing, they put in new surfaces and don't wear them in before we play,” he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. “We've lost Begbie and it's heart-breaking for him.”
“It is bouncy, it has not been played on enough and it will be like this for the next few months,”' the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia quoted Charlesworth as saying. “We have to get used to playing it.
“Maybe with a bit more water, we will see if that makes a difference. It does not reward skill because sometimes you can get through with luck.''
Charlesworth also told the organisers to ensure the pitches were used regularly to ensure the surface had lost its new sheen before the Olympics. "We have been playing on the one (blue pitch) in Perth for three months and it started off good and then it went bad and now it's getting better," he was quoted by The Australian.
The organisers, however, defended the pitch.
James Bulley, the LOCOG head of venues and infrastructure, told reporters during a series of test events at the Olympic Park that the organisers had followed the exact instructions of the world body.
“We put down the hockey field of play a year before the Olympic competition starts,” he said. “Before even the stands were built we've had players playing on that field. So it's had its time to bed in properly.
“It's followed exactly the FIH requirements in terms of the bedding-in process, the specification. So that's the appropriate way to manage and build the facility.”
While the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium will go into lock-down from May 12 until the Games open on July 27, Bulley said the hockey pitch would be played on right up to the start of competition.
Meanwhile, Nobbs said while he was satisfied with India’s play against Australia, he felt the team could do better.
“We played the top team in the world on a turf we have had two sessions on. They have been working on this surface for the last six months,” he said.
“We need to play more games against these types of teams. It will cause some pain but it's needed to get better. We are tenth and the teams here are in the top-4. It's a very large gap but it is possible to get there,” he said, pointing to Australia’s record in recent times.
“You could probably count on one hand how many matches Australia has lost in the last five years and you probably find they hit on average five-plus goals per match.
“I was satisfied with our performance but not happy we lost, we can do better.”