The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Mood upbeat in Indian camp

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Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008
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Mood upbeat in Indian camp

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: The mood is upbeat in the National hockey camp which has been in progress here for the past one week and the team management seemed to have exorcised the ghost of the Chile debacle.

As the chief coach Joaquim Carvalho observed, “it is over and we have to look ahead to the tour of Australia and the Azlan Shah tournament.”

The coach and the team management, which includes M.M. Somayya (technical director), Merwyn Fernandes (technical advisor), M.P. Singh and Ramesh Parameshwaran (assistant coaches) and R.S. Shetty (manager), have vowed to put the team back on track, learning from the mistakes of Chile.

The Chile disappointment has been mainly put down to the taxing schedule which took a toll on the players, both physically and mentally.

The 40-odd probables at the camp are going through a rigorous session in all aspects of the game and “we are putting in a hard effort,” said Carvalho. He hopes to come up with the right combination of youth and experience to redeem India’s pride with a good show in the two tournaments.

The list is likely to be pruned by the weekend and a core group for the tour would be identified before the camp winds up by April 18.

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