The Hindu : Sport : Chinese aiming for a new high in Asia Cup

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Wednesday, Aug 29, 2007
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Sport

Chinese aiming for a new high in Asia Cup

S. Thyagarajan

Manager Zhao Xiaoyu hopeful of a good show in the tournament

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

COOLING OFF: The Chinese players relax after the practice session at the YMCA hockey ground in Chennai on Tuesday.

Chennai: Nothing exemplifies the development of hockey in this continent more than the phenomenal rise of China as a powerhouse.

While its role in the women’s category is recognised and acknowledged as outstanding, the striking performances of the men’s team at the last Asian Games at Doha has triggered a new interest among hockey lovers.

Not only did China, trained by the popular Korean coach, Kim Sang Ryul, scoop a silver medal after battling the renowned South Koreans, but also lowered the colours of the sub-continental super-powers — India in the league phase and Pakistan in the semifinals.

Good performance

To dismiss the victories as a fluke will be cynical given the consistent showing by the team in subsequent tournaments. A place in the final against Australia in the recent Good Luck tournament in Beijing, which also had Malaysia and Pakistan, is but one example.

These rapid strides have brought China on the radar of Asian hockey. Now every team is wary of China, whose style and system is very similar to that of the successful Koreans. It cannot be otherwise, as both the men’s and women’s teams are trained by Koreans!

But the Chinese manager, Zhao Xiaoyu, who is in the city with the team for the Asia Cup starting on August 31, is not content with which has been achieved. The team is still in the process of learning, he observed, and counted the experience which the players would gain from figuring in the high voltage regional competition.

Zhao’s worry is the recent inconsistency. He cites the poor showing at the World Cup qualifier and then the Azlan Shah tournament as cause for concern. “We expect a good result,” Zhao emphasised when reminded that China has no worries from this Asia Cup since the team has already qualified for the Beijing Games, both as a host and as the silver medallist at Doha.

He was aware that China picked up a bronze in its maiden appearance in this tournament in 1982 at Karachi.

Praising Kim

Without a hint of hesitancy, Zhao conceded that the upward curve was the result of hard and imaginative work put by Kim Sang-Ryul, who was instrumental in taking the Korean men’s and women’s teams to excellence in world and Olympics hockey.

“China has improved because of Kim,” he acknowledged, and added the exposure the team had during the tour of Chennai on the eve of the Champions Trophy in 2005 and the Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad was also a contributing factor. What is remarkable in all these signs of successes is the fact that the country has only around 500 players!

“This is small compared to the population of China” Zhao noted but pointed out that that the interest was growing.

Eight provincial clubs, with some having foreign coaches, compete in a professional league, and the national team is composed from amongst the eight clubs. Currently, the federation is engaged in promoting the sport at the grassroots level, identifying 20 odd schools. There are also around 20 synthetic pitches in the country.

Narrowing the gap

Zhao is optimistic that the gap in achievements between the women’s and men’s team would narrow down quickly. He felt it was easier for women to play to top teams than men because of the huge chasm in numbers. Zhao, who is also the vice-secretary of the China Hockey Federation, is aware of the relevance of Asia Cup, and the need to perform better to stay in the limelight.

The team, which is without its lethal drag flicker and prompter, Li Song, who is nursing a knee injury, had two sessions at the YMCA College Ground on Tuesday. China takes on India in a Pool B match on August 31.

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