Timely boost for hockey

Over the last week hockey fans in the country got what they’d been craving for more than four decades. The men’s team finally scaled the Olympic podium for the first time since 1980 Moscow Games, winning a bronze medal after defeating Germany 5-4 in a pulsating game, while the women, despite the heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Great Britain in the bronze medal match, won over the hearts of the country. Despite a marquee Test series involving India and England in progress and Ravi Kumar Dahiya winning a silver medal in wrestling, it was hockey that dominated the news space. From front page leads to acres of coverage on sports pages -- from former players breaking down in joy on TV to fans celebrating by bursting crackers - was all too surreal.

The men’s team, post the sharp decline from the 1980s when natural turf made way for artificial one, has been trying hard to match up to the modern powers like Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina for the last decade or so but without much success. There have been fleeting moments of glory but nothing as convincing as the one witnessed during the Tokyo Olympics. So what made the men’s team tick at Tokyo. Firstly, it’s the arrival of Graham Reid as the head coach in April 2019.

The Indian team was at crossroads then. Harendra Singh had been sacked as the coach soon after the 2018 World Cup and for months, the national team didn’t have anyone guiding them until the Australian came on board. An understudy to the great Ric Charlesworth, considered as one of the sharpest minds in world hockey, Reid has done what many couldn’t do with the Indian team - bring about consistency and belief that they can challenge the tops teams. On the road to the Tokyo Games, this Indian team had beaten most of the top teams and they genuinely believed they could return from Japan with a medal. This self-belief was something that was amiss in Indian teams of the past, who would crumble most times under pressure against quality opposition.

Just like Charlesworth, Reid is tactically sound and lays huge emphasis on the process. He realised quickly that youth was the future and invested heavily in them, trying out several players on the Road to Tokyo. At the same time he didn’t dispose off seasoned players but the message to them was clear: follow the system or you’re out. Take this Olympics as an example, he wasn’t sacred to drop the seasoned Akashdeep Singh and filed a relatively inexperienced strike force. Reid dropped him because Akashdeep may be a better striker than the trio of Gurjant Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Shamsher Singh but his work rate paled in comparison to the young brigade. Put it bluntly, it was a typical Australian decision, pick the personnel who’ll get the job done without any emotion.

While Reid is indeed a no-nonsense man, the players have a found a liking to him because he knows exactly when to rap on the knuckles and when to put his arms around them. During the Covid-enforced lockdown where the team was holed up for months at a stretch at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru with no access to the outside world, Reid found a novel way to keep the team engaged. He ordered every player to make a video about himself and share it with the group. Although they play as a team, in the past players would have their own comfort groups. Player A didn’t necessarily know about B’s story. This ice-breaker bridged the divide and there was increased unity amongst the players.

Reid’s wife, Julia, prior to Covid, even took English lessons for many of the players. Some players, who hail from tribal regions, were hearing the language for the first time in their lives. Such initiatives having had a positive impact on the overall psyche of the players.

Reid’s arrival

Just like how Reid’s arrival worked wonders with the men’s team, Sjoerd Marijne’s reappointment as the women team’s head coach in May 2018 following a round of musical chairs reinvigorated the eves. At that stage, the women’s team had three coaches changed in 15 months and for no fault of theirs. Men’s team, like always, was prioritised and their discards were named as women’s coaches. When Marijne came back to the women’s team it was because he had fallen out of favour with the men who didn’t like his approach. Marijne though was happy to return to the women’s team and the affable Dutchman has brought about a silent revolution. Marijne, a huge fan of the Dutch total football, tries to replicate that in hockey also. To achieve that with the women’s team, who were not amongst the fittest in the world and technically inferior, he needed external help.

So Hockey India roped in Wayne Lombard as the scientific advisor and Janneke Schopman as the analytical coach. The appointment of the two has made a world of difference to the women’s team who generally flew under the radar of the men but now have been achieving some decent results of late. They are not weighed down by the ‘fear of failure’ against top teams anymore. While Lombard has ensured the fitness levels of the players have improved leaps and bounds with world-class fitness routines and strict diet, Schopman, who is tipped to take over from Reid after he announced his exit on Friday, is the key driver of this team.

Schopman has won the Olympic Games, the World Cup and the Champions Trophy with the all-conquering Dutch team. A solid defender during her time in the first decade of this millennium, Schopman has developed into a wonderful tactician as well and her work with the team was evident during this Olympics. Being a woman, the players also find it easy to communicate matters with her that they seldom would with a man. Schopman too knows exactly when the players need a comforting arm and is ready to offer them.

When the Olympics was postponed to this year, many girls were forced by their respective families to enter wedlock. “Olympics is not happening and what are you going to get by playing hockey” was the common jibe. With many hailing from extremely modest backgrounds, it was hard to convince their parents. Many were distraught and that’s where Schopman’s comforting talks really soothed them. The women were also advised to take up yoga and that’s had a calming influence.

Marijne’s job is to ensure his ideas and strategies sync with Schopman and Lombard. The trio also shares a good bond. The long periods at SAI owing to Covid restrictions also helped them put in the work they intended to without distractions such as competition, travel etc. Players, like skipper Rani Rampal, testing positive for coronavirus just months before the Olympics troubled them but they found a way to tide through all of it.

One common thing both the men’s and the women’s teams did at SAI was replicate the Olympic programme. They would take a bus from the campus to the pitch attired in match kits and play practice matches according to the Tokyo schedule. The only problem for them was recreating the brutal Tokyo heat as Bengaluru was much cooler in June-July. Since they couldn’t travel to either Bhubaneswar or New Delhi, they would wear thermal clothing during practice games.

All this planning and the hard work have paid handsome results but it’s just the start. One can’t get caught up in this frenzy as that can undo all the good work. While teams need to refocus and build on this momentum, it’s safe to say that in the Land of the Rising Sun, Indian hockey might have just found an inspiration for resurgence.