The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : India, fittest of all teams: Rao

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

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Sport - Hockey

India, fittest of all teams: Rao

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 1. Play for the national flag! That was the simple message from the think tank which spurred the Indian team to win the junior Asia Cup hockey championship in Karachi last week. The response even after India defeated the host in the final was very touching, recalls the manager of the victorious team, V. Ramachander Rao, who is also the vice-president of Hyderabad Hockey Association.

"The warmth and reception when the boys went out shopping and sightseeing was a great experience. Many of them insisted on being photographed with the players. And, when they watched the final, they truly appreciated every effort of the Indian players. This was evident by the way they responded to the victory lap of the Indians after the final."

Mr. Rao attributed the team's success to three factors: India was the fittest of all teams in the fray, better even than Korea, team effort and communication and camaraderie. Reflecting on the 5-2 victory in the final, the manager said that initially it looked as if Pakistan was determined to rattle India with rough play which continued for 25 minutes. "But once India took a 4-0 lead at the break, they realised that they would be better off fielding players with skills and changed strategy. Well, even the fans in the stands were jeering them."

Was the Indian team confident of victory at the break? "Certainly not. We told the boys that the match was not over till the final whistle. So the strategy was to sustain the pressure by disturbing the defence to unleash a series of attacking moves. This really worked."

Mr. Rao, who was also manager of the victorious Indian senior team in the inaugural edition of the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad last October, also spoke about the stringent security measures in place. "They didn't take any chances and we were treated in a very respectful manner."

How does it feel witnessing India beat Pakistan in the final after the Indian cricket team's success earlier on? "That (the cricket team's success) may be one of the reasons for the high spirits of the boys. Somehow they were really confident of performing well from the beginning."

If V. V. S. Laxman lent the Hyderabadi touch to the performance of the Indian cricket team, Mr. Rao only continued the good work by proving to be the lucky mascot.

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