Tour to Australia was ideal in terms of preparations for FIH Series Finals, states Graham Reid
Graham Reid has asserted that the Indian team’s tour to Australia this month was an ideal one in terms of preparations for the upcoming FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar next month. The chief coach has also added that the ability to score goals under pressure will be crucial for the team.
Ahead of the FIH Men’s Series Finals, a tournament which will be crucial for the Indian team for their qualification for the Olympic Games 2020, Team India toured Australia earlier this month. The team, under the guidance of the newly-appointed coach Graham Reid, won two games against WA Thundersticks and Australia A while lost both the matches by big margins against the senior team. In another game, the A side managed to hold Indians to a draw in the tour.
Meanwhile, after returning from the Australia tour, Indian men’s team’s chief coach Graham Reid has said that the tour was the ideal way to prepare for the FIH Series Finals which will be held from June 6 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
"It was good to get a view of where the team is at, compared to the World Number 2 side. They have been playing against world-class oppositions on a regular basis in the FIH Pro-League since the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, and this showed up in our two matches against them. For me, those matches provided a good bench-mark as to the level we have to be at as we move towards the Olympic qualification. So, in terms of preparation for our upcoming FIH Men's Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 in Bhubaneswar, the tour was ideal,” Reid was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
“It provided me a great opportunity to view players at much closer quarters and under the pressure of a world-class team. Our first quarter in the first Match on Wednesday night showed me the level this team can play, we just need to do that on a more consistent basis. Not only across quarters but across games.”
The two matches against the Australian senior team was the first international assignment for Reid who was appointed as Harendra Singh’s successor in April. The Manpreet Singh-led side, however, didn’t put up a great show in Australia to ensure a smooth beginning for Reid. India lost the first game by 0-4 goals while in the second match, the Aussies registered a 5-2 win.
The Indian coach talked about the importance of scoring goal under pressure situation. He also explained about how speed and power is becoming dominant forces and stressed on the necessity of improving in these areas.
"Our ability to score goals under tight marking pressure will be critical if we are to close the gap with teams like Australia. Over the next few weeks in Bhubaneswar during our National Camp, we need to create as many opportunities as possible for our attackers to experience this tight pressure. It will also be critical for our defenders to keep improving this area from a defensive point of view. With speed and power becoming the dominant forces in World Hockey, we also need to keep improving in these areas. These are longer term goals but we still need to keep the focus on these areas," the chief coach explained.
The Hockey India has now announced 32-member core group for the National Camp which will be held in Bhubaneswar from tomorrow. Speaking about the training schedule, Reid informed that the players will practice early in the morning and at night.
"This first week back will be a lighter week for the whole group as the non-traveling group has also been training hard over the last two weeks in Bengaluru and will need to refresh as well. It will give us a chance to work on skills that we have identified during the Australian Tour. Bhubaneswar is very hot this time of the year so we will be training early morning and later at night to avoid the heat," Reid concluded.