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| Edited By: Rutvick Mehta |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 30, 2017, 09:19 AM IST
Well, in a way I’m disappointed with the end result. But I’m pleased with the performances in most of the games. I think we played well, but in details, you could see that maybe we were lacking a little bit of experience. We were the youngest side on average age among all the teams. And you could see that, losing to Germany in the last few seconds of the game, not scoring against The Netherlands (India failed to convert five back-to-back penalty corners in the dying seconds) and not being able to beat Canada in a match in which we had so many chances. These are things that we have to learn to make the next step. But it took Belgium and Argentina 10 years to get there. They started their campaign 10 years ago, and now finally they have got there. So, it takes time.
Of course, we were very hopeful to come close to a medal after the good performances in the 2015 Hockey World League (bronze) and 2016 Champions Trophy (silver). And we showed again that we’re very close to the top sides in the world. But if you’re talking about performing consistently at that level, then yes, we were lacking there in experience. Sometimes at this level, you need a bit of luck. I think we freeze a bit in crucial moments of the game. So, those kinds of things we still have to work on in the upcoming years. But I’m sure that there’s a lot of potential in this team, and they showed just that at this Olympics.
Of course, all players were disappointed. Because they all felt — like how I did — that this Olympics was their big chance. Also because the top sides in the world — Australia, Germany, The Netherlands — showed that they were vulnerable. So that’s what the players saw, and then they felt that they have missed a chance. You never know how it will be in four years’ time. So yes, the players are disappointed about the result. But I told them to be proud of their performances, and what they tried in Rio. In a way, though, it’s good that they are disappointed about the result. It’s important for them to realise that they have things to learn from this experience, and that they have to work even harder and take their chances the moment they present themselves.
The strange thing is, if you look at the numbers, we created more chances against Canada than any other game. So, maybe from the outside, it looks like we were not able to dominate the game. But if you look at the statistics, we clearly dominated. The problem was that we were not able to finish properly. At the same time, it is also known that it’s easier to play against teams who want to attack more themselves and give them a hard time than those who leave the initiative to you. So, it’s a combination of things.
But I don’t agree that we didn’t play well against Canada. If you have 10 shots on goal as opposed to the opposition’s three and you end up in a 2-2 draw, then I suppose we didn’t finish well, but not that we didn’t play well. Yes, that game did cost us in ending up at a better position at the Olympics. That is disappointing, and that’s what I meant when I said that I’m disappointed with the overall result. But the way in which the team presented itself at the Olympics, and also at the positives we got from the previous tournaments, it really shows that we are on the right track. At this stage, though, we need to become more consistent to win against the top sides. In the end, it’s really about that in the World Cups and the Olympics.
It has to do with experience. It also has to do with the belief that it won’t happen again. We were speaking to the Belgians the other day, who also had similar issues with their team for the last couple of years. This was the first tournament in which they didn’t show it. So we spoke with them, and asked them if they did anything special to overcome it. They said, ‘no, we didn’t do anything special. It’s just that at some point, the team felt that it will not happen again’. And that’s more or less what it is, that you know that people are taking the right decisions.
In our case, sometimes we don’t take the right decisions on certain occasions, especially when under pressure. We are not calm enough, we don’t keep possession long enough, and although there is a clear briefing to the players to hold possession longer in certain circumstances, for one reason or another, they’re not able to show it on the pitch as yet. And that’s the only place where you have to show it. But that’s where the experience factor kicks in, and I’m sure the boys are learning and improving. But, yes, it’s not consistent enough.
The most important thing to see with those teams is that they started quite young, and most of the players are the same even now. So, 10 years ago, all these boys would have already played together. And then there are a few players coming into the group.
If you take Argentina, for example, they always had a good group but they lacked a bit in penalty corners. And then (Gonzalo) Peillat came into the team as a youngster. He made the team stronger. You’re now starting to see that with Belgium, where most of the players are playing together with each other for a long, long time. I know these boys since 2004, when they played for the Belgium U-16 team. And most of those guys are still there. So, that shows how long these teams are working together towards a goal, and that’s one of the major lessons that we can learn. We need to give the confidence to the group that is playing right now. Of course, there will be changes in the future. But we need to keep together the core of this group, and work on their fine-tuning. Hopefully, they will have the same opportunity and results as these teams in the future.
This Olympics showed that every team in the world can beat each other at the moment. And we are already amongst that group of teams. And I really believe this team will become stronger. But you can’t say that other teams like Australia, Germany and The Netherlands will not bounce back. So, that will be interesting to see how they react and how the other teams react. I think it will be a competitive field with many good teams, and we are one of them, no doubt about it. So yes, we will be able to win medals in the future. The first aim should be to work really hard to make that happen in the 2018 World Cup in India.
Well, I stay on as coach of India until January 1 (2017), that’s for sure. That is when my contract is expiring. What will happen after that has not been discussed yet, so I cannot say anything about it.
The interesting question now is that is this going to happen only once — like it happened at the Olympics — which was a surprise, of course. Or will this be the new trend for international hockey, and will there be more teams who can compete at a closer level to each other. To be honest, I sincerely hope it is the latter. Because if hockey starts becoming predictable, in a sense that we know already about the medal contenders before the tournament, that’s not what you want. This tournament showed that there could have been many teams in there with a shot at a medal. That shows a great development in our sport.
