Graham Reid got here to India fearing that he would ‘be out of his job in three months’. Instead, he stayed on as head coach longer than any of his predecessors. And throughout this four-year interval, the Australian discovered – and sang with gusto – the nationwide anthem, instilling a way of calm within the perennially chaotic world of Indian hockey and steering the crew to unprecedented heights, together with a return to the Olympic podium after 4 Was. decade.
On Monday, a day after Germany turned champions and per week after India’s humiliating exit from the World Cup, Hockey India claimed that Reid had resigned as coach. The federation didn’t make clear whether or not any try was made to steer the coach chargeable for India’s bronze medal on the Tokyo Olympics to remain again. Or whether or not Reid was allowed to get off simply as simply as Robin Arkell, the previous energy and conditioning specialist who’s now an integral a part of world champions Germany’s backroom employees.
It is typical of Indian hockey that after only one setback, the administration has made the coach a scapegoat as an alternative of addressing the deeper, underlying points – from lack of a grassroots program to no skilled league.
Rourkela: Indian and South African gamers vie for the ball throughout their classification match on the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in Rourkela, Saturday, January 28, 2023. India received the match 5-2. (PTI Photo)(PTI01_28_2023_000320B)
Despite these issues, and overcoming the challenges introduced by the pandemic, Reid led the nationwide crew to the Olympic podium in Tokyo, which is able to undoubtedly go down as his biggest contribution to Indian hockey.
Reid was underneath no phantasm that Kovid stored him within the job for 4 years whereas the common life span of an Indian coach is rather less than 12 months. The pandemic and the ensuing lockdown meant that matches have been brief, which meant he bought an extended rope than earlier coaches.
The Australian, who has been working with a pacemaker in his coronary heart since 1996, used this era to stabilize Indian hockey on and off the pitch. Consistency within the enjoying group additionally gave Reid time and house to make his mark on the crew.
While this was not at all times the case on the World Cup for inexplicable causes, India have became a superb counter-attacking unit, one which was affected person on the ball even when the state of affairs demanded – as an alternative of forcing penetrations, the crew stored possession , discovered to go the ball round and anticipate gaps to open, one thing they weren’t expert at earlier than.
But regardless of the Olympic medal, the crew was at all times a piece in progress. And Reed knew it.
After the Olympics, his precedence turned bettering his capturing contained in the circle. The statistics confirmed that – to borrow a footballing time period – India’s xG (anticipated objectives) have been at all times very excessive, however this was largely not mirrored within the scoreline.
A big portion of the final 12 months was spent correcting this discrepancy, in addition to the way in which the crew utilized urgent (adopting a two-thirds court docket press as an alternative of the standard full-court or half-court press) in addition to gamers Key off-the-ball operating.
Australian coach Rick Charlesworth additionally cited the motion of the ball as one of many the reason why India couldn’t beat New Zealand within the playoff match to make it to the quarter-finals.
Citing the instance of a go by New Zealand’s Simon Child within the build-up to the primary aim, Charlesworth, on whose suggestion Reid utilized for the job in 2019, had mentioned: “…Neelkanth (Sharma) was not fast sufficient to get off Doing. If he comes shut, it’s tough for Baal to go the ball. It’s by no means a factor. It’s a sequence of issues. The ball went previous Harmanpreet, he (Sharp) was not there… anyone will get a contact on the ball and as an alternative of going to somebody standing in entrance of the online, it rolls over the sideline.
With Reed feeling ‘the time has come to step apart and hand over the reins to the following administration’, this section of his venture is unfinished. And provided that it will be the following logical step within the crew’s improvement, it is secure to imagine it’s going to even be prime of the agenda for his successor, who will not have a lot time to ease into the demanding function.
It’s a busy yr for India, with matches virtually each different month, together with excursions to England and the Netherlands, however all the things the crew does will probably be designed to win gold on the Asian Games.
The multi-disciplinary occasion, which has been postponed to September-October 2023 as a result of pandemic, will present groups with the primary shot to guide an Olympic berth, which fits to the winners. The resurgence of South Korea, the doggedness of Malaysia and Japan as a banana pores and skin crew will make India’s street to the Asian Games last trickier than anticipated – and lest we overlook Pakistan, who regardless of their troubles have at all times been within the combine are in.
“I have a lot of respect for the Asian Games, what a tough tournament it is,” Reid mentioned final week.
After Reid’s departure, it has turn out to be tough for India to regain the gold medal they received in 2014.
packed yr for india
march: FIH Pro League (India hosts Australia and Germany)
could June: FIH Pro League (India journey to England to face Great Britain and Belgium)
june: FIH Pro League (India journey to Netherlands to face Dutch and Argentina)
september: Asian Games in Hangzhou, China
* A house Test sequence towards Australia and potential participation within the Azlan Shah Cup are additionally on the playing cards
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
