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

03/22/2019

The Indian men’s hockey team will start a fresh year with the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament which will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from March 23. However, the men’s team has its own share of problems before starting their campaign in 2019 with only a year left for the Olympics.

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.

The biggest concern for the Manpreet Singh-led side will be the absence of proper guidance during the event in Malaysia as Hockey India has not appointed a new chief coach since Harendra’s departure in January. The decision was scheduled to be announced before February 28 after the deadline was extended from January 31. However, the 18-man Indian squad had to leave for Malaysia without a chief coach being appointed by the board before the start of the six-nation tournament. Now, however, there are media reports that former Australia hockey player Graham Reid is in line to be appointed as the next head coach of the Indian Hockey team.

The team has travelled to Malaysia with Hockey India’s High-Performance Director (HPD) David John at the helm of the affairs along with analytical coach Chris Ciriello who was a part of the World Cup support staff as well. Now, this makes things a bit difficult for the Indian side as John is someone who has no relevant experience neither as a hockey coach nor as a player. There have been many instances before where the HPD, who came into Indian hockey as an exercise physiologist and scientific adviser, himself had admitted that he has never played hockey. However, the 34-man National Camp at SAI Centre, Bengaluru was held before the team selection under the supervision of John and many former players and hockey experts had raised questions on that as well. Ciriello and SAI coach Piyush Dubey were also a part of that camp from which the 18-member squad was picked up for the tournament.

“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.

“He is mainly a trainer and has never worked as a coach. Although he can make one or two strategies but I don’t think that will have a lot of impact. He can only suggest about till how long a player can be on the turf but can advise a lot on overall strategies.”

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.

Another major factor which will haunt the Indian team during the tournament is the absence of some of its key members during the season opener in Ipoh. A comparatively young side will be travelling to Malaysia as the Hockey India had informed that as many as seven senior players will miss out due to injury. The list of players not playing in the Azlan Shah Cup includes four members of the World Cup squad as well. But interestingly, most of these players were a part of the coaching camp which was held in Bengaluru which further raises doubts about their selection or rather non-selection.

“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.”

The Indian team, which will start its campaign against Japan on March 23, will miss the services of experienced forwards SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, and defenders Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh as well as midfielder Chinglensana Singh as they were “unavailable” for selection due to injury. Junior players Vishal Antil and Pardeep Singh were also injured and the Hockey India had mentioned in a press release that the players will undergo rehabilitation in Bengaluru itself. Meanwhile, the Hockey India has informed today that Gurjant Singh has fractured his nose and will not be a part of the tournament. Gursahibjit Singh will make his senior India debut in the inexperienced forward line comprising Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Sumit Kumar.

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.

Ranked 18 in the world, Japan can surprise any side on a given day and their recent exploits at the Asiad is a big testimony to that. The Asian Games gold medallist is the team that India will face on the opening day of the tournament in Ipoh. South Korea has traditionally been a powerhouse in Asia and they have earlier troubled India on many occasions in the past. So, in spite of many teams busy playing the FIH Pro League, India still have to face some tough fight from the lower-ranked teams which also include Canada and Poland.

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.

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

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