Ric Charlesworth, who is in Lucknow to offer tips to the Indian women’s hockey team, is quite candid when he talks about the game. Although aware that the women’s team could qualify for the Olympics only once before, in 1980, he has been seriously discussing strategies with the coaches and the “technically good players”. The women’s team, which is preparing for the Olympic qualifiers to be held in Kazan, Russia, has already had some fruitful sessions with Charlesworth ever since he arrived with the chief coach MK Kaushik on Saturday. In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express after the first training session on Monday, Charlesworth said that he wished he could’ve joined the team in February. “I have had brief stints with the Indian women players — with the junior girls in January this year and with the senior team at Oman. I am here for a very brief period and will leave for Chandigarh to settle my family after which I will return to Lucknow. I will reach Russia before the tournament starts. So I will not have much time with the girls in the camp,which ends on April 8.” Charlesworth said that it would be improper to point out drawbacks in the side after seeing them in only a couple of session. He, however, said that the women have progressed a lot since the past month. “They have definitely improved in the past one month and have improved technically too but will still have some trouble ahead. It will not just be USA, other opponents like the Netherlends, Belgium, France and Russia cannot be taken lightly because the competition is tough. Every match is as important as the other.” He had a word of praise for the women’s team coaches. “The team has been well coached and for the next few weeks, the girls have to work very hard to prepare themselves for the Olympic qualifiers. They have a 50-50 chance of qualifying. The team should also be mentally prepared about the cold weather conditions in Russia.” Language barrierCharlesworth said that not being able to speak the first language of the players was a bit of a drawback. “It is not always easy when you do not speak the first language. Still I am content because during the interactive sessions held at the SAI sub-centre here, I realised that most of them understood English and were even taking down notes. Most of them understand English although they are hesitant to converse in it.” On the changing playing patterns by the hockey teams of various countries, Charlesworth said, “One has to be flexible. You cannot succeed by sticking to one form of play. The constant thing in life is change.” Chief coach of the team MK Kaushik admitted that although Charlesworth’s stint with the team is brief, the team is trying to make optimal use of his advice. Kaushik said that going by the performances of the girls in some of the international tourneys held in the past, he was hopeful that the team could qualify.
