Bansal rues too early entry into senior fold

As you enter the Nehru Stadium in Gurgaon where the junior national hockey camp is being held, shifted from Bhopal, your attention goes immediately

As you enter the Nehru Stadium in Gurgaon where the junior national hockey camp is being held, shifted from Bhopal, your attention goes immediately towards a man of medium height, virtually lost in a crowd of over 30 young and eager boys. But they are completely mesmerised as they listen to him.

Cut to Hobart, 2001. There was also a similar batch of young eager hockey players who then won the junior World Cup.

A look at the team’s roster shows names like Deepak Thakur, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Viren Rasquinha, Rajpal Singh, Devesh Chauhan, Prabodh Tirkey. And the list goes on. All of them almost immediately went on to represented the senior team.

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Some are still there. Skipper Prabodh is from that team which was coached by Rajinder Singh.

Six years have passed—many new faces have come and gone. The junior team came fourth in the next edition of the junior World Cup.

Newly appointed coach, A K Bansal, has embarked upon a mission to take his current lot to similar glory. He may not have to worry about the World Cup right now. His job at hand is the eight-nation U-21 tournament in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

“I feel that our junior crop has always been very talented. Compared to countries like Holland, Australia or Spain they are the best. It is not their ability and skill which is lacking, but the fact that they do not get the right amount of grooming before they enter the senior level,” he said.

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Back in 2001, the juniors were quickly inducted into the senior team, leaving the junior team in tatters. Though new faces like Jugraj Singh, Sandeep Singh and Raghunath emerged, they too were snapped up for the senior side as soon as they proved their mettle.

“See, I believe a player must remain in the junior level till he is properly groomed to enter the senior team. Moving them too early could also affect the player as it becomes a whole new playing field,” said Bansal.

Bansal suggests there is a need to hold more camps, and for longer durations, in order to hone the skills of these players. “A 20-day camps just before a tournament may help them prepare for a junior meet, but it does not really train them for the senior circuit. For that, we have to identify the best players and then we have to hold special camps in which we have specialists who will not only help them improve their fitness and skill, but also teach them new hockey tactics as well as keep them updated on the rules,” he said.

Bansal is impressed with his wards in the camp here. “It would be too early to state what the team lacks at this point as it is the second day of camp, but from what I have seen in Chennai (where the junior nationals were held recently) I can say we have a strong defence and attack. However, what worries me is our mid-field and the fact that we do not have a drag flicker in the team.”