Roelant Oltmans and MK Kaushik,coaches of the national hockey team,are known to exude confidence in the most difficult of circumstances. However,such is the enormity of the challenge that awaits them that,for once,they are guarded in their approach. The team left for Ipoh,Malaysia,on Friday for next weeks Asia Cup,knowing that anything other than an outright win will virtually kill their hopes of qualifying for next years World Cup. Oltmans and Kaushik,both tremendous man-managers,have shown Zen-like calmness in this situation of immense pressure and their faith in their players ability remains strong as ever. But neither the wily Dutchman nor the shrewd Indian are going overboard with the teams chances,instead stating that the side is well prepared to fight for the title. No one knows what will happen on a particular match day but in the last one month,we have done everything that was in our hands, says Kaushik,who was named the national coach last month. Oltmans,the interim chief coach,endorses Kaushiks views. Are we well-prepared? Yes, he says. Will we win the tournament? No one can say that. One look at the 18-member squad that left for Ipoh explains the apprehension over the likelihood of India finishing on the top of the podium. With a new coaching staff and a young,inexperienced squad,India enter the crucial tournament lacking in confidence. Crippled by injuries to Akashdeep Singh,Gurvinder Singh Chandi,Danish Mujtaba and SV Sunil,the forward line is in disarray. The coaching staff and selectors have taken a gamble by opting for young,untested players in an area that often determines the outcome of a match. Of the lot that was available to us,these are the best players. Unfortunately,we lost key players to injuries and because of that,there is a bit of inexperience in the side, Kaushik says. Its not a time to sound negative. I am confident that this side is good enough to challenge Asias best. Kaushik says the coaching staff identified key areas that needed attention and tried to find a temporary fix to that. Its a short period for us to bring about a drastic change. We have been working on defending penalty corners and making the structure of the team more robust. By that,I mean that we have laid emphasis on maintaining shape while attacking or defending and not giving space to the opponent, Kaushik explains. India are placed in a group that also contains Oman,Bangladesh and South Korea. They open their campaign on August 24 against Oman. It should be a straightforward group to get out of,but its the knockout rounds,where they could face either the rapidly improving Malaysia or Pakistan,that will define their fortunes. Perhaps a couple of big wins early in the tournament will settle the nerves, says Kaushik. That will be the key.
