That fear of losing has gone: VR Raghunath and SV Sunil

After the World Cup disappointment, winning a silver at the Commonwealth Games must've been a good feeling...
Raghunath: There was a lot of criticism of us in the last two-three months and things were getting difficult. But we knew we had the potential to play in the final and we went in with that attitude. We showed we had the quality to beat teams like New Zealand. We showed improvements in every match till the final. But we could've done much better in the final in terms of scoring goals.
Sunil: Personally, it was a great feeling for me. We had worked a lot on this as a team for the past two months. I'm very happy about the way the team performed.

Coach Terry Walsh had aimed for the semifinals before the start. Was there belief in the team that you could go a step further?
Raghunath: Yes, we knew we had a challenging draw right up till the semifinals. I think the matches against South Africa and New Zealand were very crucial for us. We lost (captain) Sardar Singh for the semifinals, so that gave us the extra motivation to reach the final and play for him.
Sunil: We aimed to play in the final. After we couldn't get the results in the World Cup, we told ourselves that we just had to play the semifinals and win it, even if it was against England. We knew the pool already, and we had made our plans for England and also for New Zealand. When we knew we'd play New Zealand, we were happy because that's better than playing England! So we spoke in the team meeting that whatever happens, we can't go home now after coming so far. We had to win it.

So you wanted to win the semifinals for Sardar...
Raghunath: Yes, 100 per cent. We took the challenge to play without Sardar heads on and we played our hearts out in the match.
Sunil: We spoke about Sardar not being there. And we wanted to go to the final just for him, so that he could play. We played for our captain.

Losing the final 4-0 was a bit of a disappointment, isn't it? Was there a feeling of satisfaction in the team even before the match?
Raghunath: No, we don't think like that. We take every match seriously. Actually if you see the final, we were attacking till the last minute, almost the same amount as Australia. Just that we couldn't convert some of the open chances we had. I think the match was a lesson for us on how to play and manage a big final. We have a lot to learn from Australia on how to play the big finals.
Sunil: Not at all. We already had a silver, like in the last CWG, but not gold. So we went in with the mindset to win. But I think that day we got our combinations a little wrong. We were playing well, and didn't concede a goal in the first 15 minutes.

From finishing ninth in the World Cup to silver in CWG, what changed and how did the turnaround happen?
Raghunath: I don't want to compare the World Cup to CWG. World Cup was a different scenario, and we were really disappointed because we lost every match with a one-goal difference. We lost matches in the last two minutes. So we should've performed well in the World Cup itself, but it wasn't to be. We worked on those mistakes before the CWG, and the every player lifted their game 20-30 per cent in CWG. We showed we can compete with the big teams. It will take some time, but it's happening. Like we beat Germany in the Hockey World League, beat New Zealand here... so slowly we're coming to that stage.
Sunil: If you ask me, I think we played well in the World Cup. We didn't get the results, and we lost because of our last-minute goals. We didn't repeat those mistakes in the CWG. Not only that, we worked on all the mistakes that we committed in the World Cup before the CWG. And it showed.

Both of you are senior players and have been with the team for a long time. What improvements do you see in this team, especially since Walsh took over?
Raghunath: We're managing our strengths and fitness really well. Unlike in the past, we're trying to attack and trying to kill the opponents. More importantly, I think the motivation levels of the boys has really gone up, and the mental attitude has totally changed. We're always trying to challenge the big teams. So, mentally, the team has undergone a real positive change in the last one year.
Sunil: Well, there has been a drastic change in the unity in our team. To support each other, respect each other, trust each other, is very important in a team. And Walsh got that into the team. We've also benefitted a lot having a video analyst, scrutinizing our every mistake on the field. Our fitness levels have also improved, to the extent that the guys aren't tired even after playing 70 minutes. More importantly, every player wants to do something. We're not playing with fear any more. That fear of losing has gone. We're now playing with an open mind.

The next target would be gold in the Asian Games, isn't it?
Raghunath: We're one of the biggest competitors for the Asian Games. We really want to do well in the tournament from day one, so that we can reach the target that we really want to achieve. We're in a really good position to compete there and I have a positive feeling that we can do really well in Asian Games.
Sunil: Look, we're the No. 1 in Asia at the moment. If we can play well against Europeans teams and compete against teams like Australia, then against Asian teams we can win easily. We have the potential to beat everyone in Asia. There is no doubt that we will win gold in the Asian Games.