Finally, hockey turns to West

After their gradual slide while trying to grasp modern hockey, India, the erstwhile Czars of the game have finally decided to take the help ...

After their gradual slide while trying to grasp modern hockey, India, the erstwhile Czars of the game have finally decided to take the help of foreign hands as they prepare to regain the Olympics glory at Athens in August. Though Rajinder Singh will remain the chief coach, former German international Oliver Kurtz and coach Gerhard Rach will form part of the team management.

While experts see the decision as a bold step 8212; and something in the right direction 8212; strangely though Indian Hockey Federation IHF president KPS Gill played it down. 8216;8216;You can8217;t say that we have hired foreign coaches for the Indian team,8217;8217; was his cryptic comment at the press conference. Maybe, this was his way of reassuring Rajinder that the reins were still in his hands.

Gill went on to add that the Germans were in charge of the new-found 8216;Strategy Department8217; of the Indian hockey team. 8216;8216;The Germans will study the tactics of other teams and decide on the strategies to be adopted.8217;8217; That certainly puts a question mark over Rajinder8217;s role. Though Gill didn8217;t quite spell it out, he insisted that Rajinder will be the chief coach till the Games.

Even as the IHF expect the Germans to bring in with them and pass on the secrets of expertise that is needed to succeed on astroturf, what is baffling is the timing of hiring the foreign hands. With just two and a half months to go for the Olympics it remains to be seen if a crash course in European strategic planning will help the team.

nbsp;	Dhanraj, Jugraj among probables

		nbsp;	8226; Devesh Chauhan, Kamaldeep Singh, Adrian D8217;Souza, Dilip Tirkey, Kanwalpreet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Jatinder Pal Singh, Jugraj Singh, William Xalxo, Harpal Singh, Viren Rasquinha, Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Bimal Lakra, Vivek Gupta, Sunil Yadav, Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Michael, Adam Sinclair, Inderjeet Singh and Hari Prasad.	nbsp;

The combination of two continental styles 8212; Asian and European 8212; has worked wonders for Pakistan. They experimented with Dutch coach Hans Jorritsma in the early 90s and were rewarded with Champions Trophy and World Cups titles. But, unlike in India, Pakistan8217;s foreign coach was in total control of the team besides having sufficient time to mould it.

The IHF8217;s flaws apart, it will go down as a watershed decision in the annals of Indian hockey and the IHF deserve a pat on its back. Add to this the naming of senior players 8212; Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon 8212; among the list of Olympic probables and the news that Jugraj Singh can still make it to Athens!

After the recent chaos and confusion, Indian hockey seems to be right on the track.