‘Road to Olympics is a lot tougher now’

Chief coach Harendra Singh slammed the Indian hockey team for making silly mistakes in the Asian Games semifinal against Malaysia and said the 6-7 loss has made Olympic qualification a lot tougher.

A gold medal at the Asiad would have secured India’s qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.

“Malaysia are the deserving winners. We committed too many unforced errors and paid the price. We did not keep things simple. We tried to show our skills and by doing that we lost the momentum. It is a big setback for Indian hockey. The road to Olympics is a lot bumpier now. We missed the easiest chance to qualify,” said Harendra.

It was only Malaysia who had stunned India in the semifinals of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

Asked why Malaysia continues to trouble India, the coach said, “They were only looking to score on the counter and both their goals came from the counter.

“We had a plan to shift and pass but we tried to hold the ball and made parallel passes. That cost us the game. Also, we committed too many unforced errors. It is unpardonable.”

Harendra, however, said India were not at all fault in the shoot-out.

“Shoot out is anybody’s game. If we would have won, we would not have celebrated. In shoot-out, turning around is a problem.

“If your centre of gravity is low then it is easier (to turn around), if it is high then it becomes a problem,” he said. India had pumped in a record 76 goals in the group stage. Did it make them complacent?

“I don’t think so. We took them as serious practice matches. We never take any team lightly.

“But this loss is a setback for Indian hockey. Coaches will come and go.”

India still have to fight it out for the bronze play-off.

“The boys will have to pick themselves up. There is still a medal at stake,” Harendra said.