Dilip Tirkey’s advice for Indian hockey
The hockey team of India’s strong defence, excellent game skills, attacks and counter-attacks, coordination and teamwork did not work in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games’ final, where Australia handed them an 8 goal drubbing.
Former captain of Indian Hockey team, Dilip Tirkey, describing the situation said that the hockey team needed a sport psychologist to boost the mental stamina of the players and help them remain in fine form for the upcoming Asian Games starting from November
12 in China.
In an interview, the former captain giving tips to Indian defenders urged the need of a nutritionist and psychologist for the team saying that the mental formidability is a foremost requisite for consistent form from the players. He was of the view that
the players would have to overcome such issues with the help of a psychologist.
Dilip Tirkey is an ex-captain of the Indian hockey team, who led the squad in Doha Asian Games four years back. He was played at full back position and renowned for his short corner hits. He was also one of the hard defenders of the World. He retired from
hockey this year due to ankle problems.
He said the Indian team performed well in Commonwealth Games and they had potential to win a gold medal in the upcoming Asian Games. However, for this the team would have to work on penalty corner strategies and defence system, where they were lacking in
the previous games.
Former ace specialist while giving tricks to the players asked them to work on tackling and marking fields. Expressing grief over the Indian squad for receiving eight goals from Australia in the CWG final, he said that he could not ascertain the reasons
in this regard. It was awful to see the defenders yielding before the Aussies even though all the players were fit, added the defender.
In the final match of the Commonwealth Games, the defence of the Indian team was looking shattered due to intense pressure from the Australian side. India’s squad had managed to dominate the match for only the first 20 minutes and then all had gone sideways.
Tirkey, who has more than 400 caps said, "We fail to understand the games as absolutely as the world’s teams work in this regard”.
He said that the team has possessed the skills but they were slow in undertaking the opposite players. The inclusion of experienced Prabhjot Singh and Ignace Tirkey in the team for Asian Games will surely boost the confidence of the team, he predicted.
Commenting over the new talent of the country, the defender said that there was no shortage of skill and talent in the hockey field. However, the proper training could produce impressive results from the newcomers.
Describing the team’s attacking, Dilip Tirkey said that the volume of penalty corner conversion into goals is not up to the mark. The other point which intensifies the pressure on the team is frequently losing the ball in the game, he stated.
To a query, the former defender expressed that the squad in the headship of Rajpal Singh is better than the arch-rivals Pakistani team. Apart from people’s claims, the Indian squad is more skillful than their neighboring opponents in fitness, performance
and in technique.
The former captain observed that the hockey at grass root level is a frequent source of new talent into mainstream sport, which should have more exposure to polish their skills. Through this way, the new talent will have chances to hone their abilities before
joining the national squad, he said while urging the corporate sector to enhance their assistance for building modern facilities across the country.
Tirkey was of the view that the bewitchment of cricket in India has absorbed all the attention of this sector and only a few organizations sponsor hockey and other sports.
Concluding their suggestions, he asked all the stake holders including Hockey India, Indian Hockey Federation, Sports Ministry, corporate sector and the nation as a whole, to struggle for strengthening hockey at a grass root level.
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