Sultan Azlan Shah Cup | Why coachless India will not go into the tournament as favourites

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. 

“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.

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.

“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 per cent fitness ahead of the FIH Series Final, Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 which is a crucial tournament in our quest for 2020 Olympic berth and hence will continue to remain in Bengaluru and work on their rehabilitation,” John had explained in a press release by Hockey India soon after the squad was announced.

“It is a relatively young side but each of these players have tremendous potential and have a good amount of International exposure. It is important to see how they fair in Malaysia as it will show the depth we possess in the Core Group ahead of the Olympic Qualification events this year.”

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 is not only a worrying sign for the Azlan Shah Cup but also for the future as the national team can’t just afford players missing out due to injuries even after a long break just because he was representing his employers in a corporate tournament. 

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.

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 Bhubaneswar, after the Azlan Shah Cup and a trophy would boost the team’s confidence before getting ready to ensure qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.

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 honours with South Korea. However, the kind of situation that they are in, it is not wise to put the favourites tag on India in the 28th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup which the Manpreet Singh-led side will want to bag after a good gap of nine years.