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| Edited By: Rutvick Mehta |Source: DNA |Updated: Dec 12, 2017, 01:25 AM IST
It was a good tournament. I feel we need to improve upon our goal-scoring in penalty corners as well as field goals. We had a lot of chances but we didn't make them. We have to work on our consistency. One match we're really good, one match we go down. One match we beat a team like Belgium, one match we lose to England. We played at a below-par level against England, but in the very next game, we were much better. So there are two sides to this team.
Yes, it is a concern. But there are other concerns as well, like penalty corner conversion and scoring field goals. Look, this team has potential, there's no doubt about that. It's about converting that potential to its fullest. But it is important that we have the potential. It would've been a much bigger problem if we didn't have potential.
There could be many factors. There could be distractions. Every day is a different day. But it is normal. That is why sports is so attractive. No two days will be the same, and to maintain some level of consistency despite that is the challenge. The biggest opponent in sport is your own mind. It's not the opposition team on the park, it's your own mind. And that is what makes sport so beautiful. For example, in tennis, Roger Federer is the best in the business when it comes to that. He has tremendous control over his mind, and that is what makes him the champion that he is. That is something these players need to learn.
Look, most of these players are still young. And they are still learning about thinking entirely on focus points. Experienced players get better at that as they play more at the international stage, and that is why experience counts so much in any sport. Young players have to get better at that, and I think these boys will sooner rather than later.
This bronze gives self-belief to the team. We challenged almost every team throughout the tournament, and that's something that players were not used to. That is changing now, and it is really pleasing. No country was much better than us. We played against every country and we had a chance to win against each one of them. I was really happy with that. And I'm really happy that the mindset of the players is changing.
Biggest positive is the mindset of the players, the fact that they now have the belief of being able to challenge and even beat any top team in world hockey. Biggest concern is the unforced errors. We need to make lesser mistakes, and stop giving easy goals away.
It was important for me as coach to develop my relationship with the players, and this tournament I have been able to do that. It will only grow, of course, more so because we came back with something from this tournament. Medals like these are vital for India. Playing under pressure, in front of the burden of expectations of your home crowd, and still holding on to your own and winning a bronze. I think the players coped with the pressure really well.
The goals next year will be gold at the Asian Games (in August-September), and doing well at the FIH World Cup (November-December). But before these two key tournaments there is also another important event – the Commonwealth Games (April). It is important that we play well there because it will give us the required confidence going into the Asian Games.
