Harendra Singh did not have to relocate much when he took charge as the coach of the Indian senior men's hockey team. Earlier this month, Hockey India swapped the men's and women's hockey team coaches after a disappointing outing for both the teams in the Commonwealth Games in April.
Harendra Singh, who was in charge of the women's team, replaced Sjoerd Marijne. With both the teams having set up base in Bengaluru, it is just about the adjusting to the new task and team. But, it is a homecoming of sorts for Harendra Singh, having coached the women's team before he took over the reins of the men's team from Marijne.
In fact, after leading the junior men's Indian hockey team to the World Cup title in 2016, Harendra Singh was ready for the big job when Roelant Oltmans was sacked as senior men's team coach. However, Hockey India decided against it, only to return to him six months later. All the 48 players comprising the core group, have played under his watch at some point of time—be it as junior India player or in the Hockey India League. Which meant, Harendra Singh hit the floor running on assuming charge.
The task Harendra Singh has been entrusted with now is far more demanding. Sports Authority of India and Hockey India, who are involved in appointment of the hockey coach, have kept their brief clear—they want podium finishes. He is used to such demands. Even as the coach of the junior men's team, he had a similar brief and he delivered, winning the World Cup.
After a three-week long camp with the men's hockey team in Bengaluru, Harendra Singh returned home to New Delhi for a short break of 10 days. This will be followed by another camp from May 27 to June 18, before he leaves for his first major tournament as coach—the Champions Trophy in Holland.
Speaking to THE WEEK on his approach, his interaction with the players, sorting selection issues and getting the combination right for Asian Games and the World Cup, Harendra Singh made it clear that he would not be experimenting with combinations unlike his predecessor Marijne. Outlining his criteria for selections for Asian Games and World Cup later this year, he maintained that veterans like midfielder Sardar Singh was in his scheme of things. Excerpts:
What was the focus of the camp?
I think the team had problems with scoring at the Commonwealth Games. We penetrated the circle but were not able to score. Defending and attacking well is of no use unless we score. We had a discussion with the players and have started from scratch, with focus on scoring, tight defence and passing.
Experimenting with several youngsters at the same time in a major tournament like the CWG did not work. Your views on team selection, and balancing between experience and youth?
Experience is important. All over the world, teams are finely balanced with youth and experience. Some fresh legs will always give good results. In the long run, we have to be smart with balancing both.
A direct qualification to 2020 Tokyo Olympics is at stake. How tough will it be for India? The India-Pakistan match in the CWG was disappointing and showed that defending champions India won't have it easy.
When a 24th ranked team plays a 10th ranked one, you would expect a good result. However, in such competitions, unexpected results happen. At the end of the day, if India had a podium finish, no one would be talking about the draw against Pakistan.
However, having said that, with so much support from the HI and the SAI, the team must now deliver results. 2018 is very critical for the team. There is Asian Games and World Cup at home. Coaching staff must take responsibility and rectify the mistakes. Indian hockey, I believe, is walking a thin line—between winning and not winning a medal. To define the thin line, I mean all the silly mistakes like conceding late goals or not scoring in the last few minutes and not playing good hockey. We need to rectify these mistakes.
For the past three years, we have been sixth in the world. We need to break into top four.
There were talks of younger players not being ready for big competitions and the need to use seniors more often. Your comments?
It's a process. Each individual matures differently. It's the job of the coach to identify or put lesser mature players through a process. I don't want to put pressure on any player by naming them. The pressure should be on me to ensure the players are responding correctly.
How do you look at Sardar Singh and his future in terms of Asian Games and the World Cup?
Sardar was never out of the camp. All 48 probables are eligible for selection. Selection will be based on two things—performance and fitness. The criteria remains same for all. It all depends on how a coach uses him. All 48 want to be part of history. There is healthy competition between all of them.
Experts felt the team did not play under a well-defined structure at the CWG.
Structure is always dependent on our strength, which is playing attacking hockey. We have a defined structure, with each player's role specified, whether it is defending or attacking.
How tough was it for you to switch to taking charge of men's team from women's team?
It was not so challenging. I would say becoming the women's team coach was more challenging for me.