Vasudevan Baskaran urge induction of fresh talent into the Indian hockey team: Hockey Update
Vasudevan Baskaran, the former chief coach of the national hockey squad, held the hockey administrators responsible for the squad’s disappointing performance in the just-concluded Malaysia-based Azlan Shah Cup. Taking the administration on their target,
he said that they would have to acquire young-blood for the upcoming 2012 London Olympics.
It is vital to mention here that the Indian team, who had set their eye to complete hat-trick of Azlan Shah Tourneys, finished at the humiliating sixth place out of total seven teams. A strong administrative power-house is need of the hour to upgrade the
sport’s status in the country.
Baskaran, who was skipper of the national squad that lifted the eighth and last gold medal in the Moscow Olympics held in 1980, eloquently brushed off the criticism on the hockey administration. He stated that they would have to get a spot in the upcoming
2012 London Olympics, as they were not in position to bear the agony of non-qualification like the 2008 Games. He, however, urged the need of fresh legs in the squad to achieve the qualification.
Speaking to the media, the former Olympian said that there were no major differences occurred in the Indian hockey since the last five years. They did not have scarcity of talent in the country, but they were required to find out the youngsters. Putting
aside the fight for the power between Hockey Indian and the Indian Hockey Federation, they would have to move forward to restore the past glory, he added.
He stated, “People say that we missed midfielder Sardara Singh in the Azlan Shah Cup but that is not an excuse. We must have 3 or 4 players for each position. Why doesn't the administration try to broaden the pool?”
Baskaran was the person who coached the national squad in 2006 that took part in the World Cup in the German city of Monchengladbach.
The former coach also appraised the performance of young short-corner expert namely Rupinder Pal Singh, who scored seven goals in the seven matches. He advised the administration to use zone-based events to select the players. Declaring the finding of Rupinder
Pal Singh as greatest move, he said that it would not have possible in the case Sandeep Singh was in the team.
Quoting the complaints of former Spanish-born chief coach, Jose Brasa, he asked the current coach Harendra Singh to focus on pool of players in broader sense. In the meantime, he also criticised the players saying that they lacked steadiness. The Indian
side displayed impressive game against best teams and managed a draw against Australia, but they lost to comparatively less-experienced squads.
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