By A Sports Correspondent NEW DELHE: In the Champions Trophy recently our hockey team finished at the bottom. If we look at the table of the ultimate result we have been fairly monotonous in our failures, But if we look at the performance on the field, improvement in ‘our game is disenable as compared to our earlier combination, The one factor which is mainly responsible for this change for the better is the introduction of younger Clements,

Result wise also, the boys did not do too badly. Except in the game against Holland they were never outplayed. They defeated Germany in the opening match and lost all the rest of the matches by the narrowest of ‘margins. Similarly, the boys did fairly well in the Ghafoor Benefit Matches played in Pakistan,

Ye l, it is only success which counts. is it only bad luck which keeps on following us doggedly or is it the result of some basic shortcomings in our game? Yes, we do have basic defects in our whole approach to the game. Take the case of the match against Australia, who incidentally turned out to the champions.

‘We lost to them by 23. The first two goals were just not there, We got a penalty comer failed as usual, the ball was cleared by the Australians, to a totally unmarked attacker, who had all the field to himself, and there was just no defender anywhere to stop him. It was a miserable goal, as if we had ourselves invited it.

The second goal was the worst. The feeble angular shot taken at the goal was clearly going out, but our goalkeeper obliged by putting his leg out and deflecting the ball in. The third was scored in a melee after a short comer. Of course, nobody could help it.

The story was about the same in the rest of the matches except the one we played against Britain our last engagement. We were a totally disintegrated side. There was no spirit, Consciously or not we had given up even before the game.

Basic Defects

Now, a few things about the basic defects in our plan of the game. The one defect about which the experts are unanimous is that we do not posses the ability to convert penalty comers. Why should we not be able to do if? It only requires practice in timing, precision and a natural and mechanical rhythm in the three players involved.

That is about not being able to score. ‘What about the penalty comers against us ‘which have proved to be our undoing? Why do we concede penalty comers? Has anybody thought of adopting some manner lot defense by which to avoid conceding penalty comers?

There are modes of defence which can yield positive results, First of all the position that our defenders take is wrong, They must position themselves ahead of the attacker, at the same time covering the gap so that he does not get the ball at We make our job more difficult by first letting him get the ball and then trying to intercept him in a clumsy manner. Most of this desperate clumsy tackling is done in the ring or inside the 25 yards line area. We should convert the crisis zone area from inside the 25 yard line to the area between the center line and the 25 yards line. We should also learn to stand on a razor sharp straight line on the 25 yards line to get the advantage of the off side rule, This will require a lot of confidence but by this you can throw the best attacking side out of gear.

The third thing is to train your goal keeper not to indulge in monkey jumping. We should be very stable in the goal just a step forward from the goal line, period. This stance of the goalkeeper will also be helpful in situations other than the penalty comer.

A few things about the performance of some individuals. You require an aggressive robust left inner like Jude Felix. Pargat and Subramani should normally be 00d defenders but they seem to have got in the funny habit of late clearance. They wait with the ball too long and allow the tackler to come close to them, then they either lose the ball or the clearance is inaccurate.

It is my very long experience, both as a player as well as an observer, that quite often teams become jinxed. It definitely is an inexplicable phenomenon but it does happen. The team which gets involved in a cycle of defeats, fails in spite of good performance, That is what is happening to ourhockey side that is what is happening to our cricket side too.

Not that it is not possible to get out of this psychological cycle. But it requires a supreme, dedicated effort on the part of all concerned players, selectors, Associations and Federations as also the Government. You have to find the right and dedicated young boys and mold them into the finest. ‘Above all you have to impart to them ¢ balance the spirit and the will to win. The quarrels among the Sports Association and Federations have to stop. These quarrel: are the worst destroyers of the sports.

The cycle of defeats needs to be broken, it has to be broken. I have no doubt our sports in general and our hockey in particular can be retrieved, but it will require a herculian dedicated effort by all concerned.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 14, 1989