If there was one person under intense scrutiny when the Indian men’s hockey team left for the Asian Games, it was coach Terry Walsh.
Despite the team making visible improvements in all areas of the game, the Australian was under pressure.
There was also talk of him losing his job. He kept it in style at Incheon.
On Sunday, on his return from the Asian Games, he, however, insisted there was no question of relief.
“I am satisfied that we are getting closer to where we need to be and I am happy the win is an indicator that we are on the track of what we have been trying to do for months now, but I am not relieved,” Walsh said in a chat with The Hindu here.
Walsh has been a hard taskmaster for more than a year now. Despite finishing second at the Commonwealth Games and a disappointing ninth at the World Cup, Walsh had been confident that the team was developing. He is glad that the results are finally showing. But he also knows there is a long way to go if India has to get back among the top teams in world hockey.
Less ‘masala’“Ideally, we would want to have a lot more of the Indian masala in our play. That is something that I have killed to a degree, though not deliberately. I have taken it away so that the players can do a lot more in the other areas of the game that they need to work on.
“The perfect solution would be when we get that back, and add to the kind of play we are getting used to now,” Walsh said.
Asked about the difference between India and Pakistan in the final, Walsh put it down to the understanding of the players and style of play.
“See, Pakistan was probably not expecting what we did. They have been out for a while and they have got some very nice players, but we played a modern, planned game and that I guess affected them.
“I think they hoped we would come at them a lot more. It was still fast, open hockey but we did not play the traditional India-Pakistan game. It would be nice if we were able to have a combination of the two though,” Walsh explained.
He was all praise for the Indian players for not falling prey to the emotions of the contest. “All credit to the guys that they stayed on track. But our players understand that if they do that, they would be just like the other team. It is easy to lose your mind in the kind of emotions that run on ground at that time. I can understand that fervour can sometimes go over the top. We lost a bit in the first game in the league stage and did get caught a couple of times in the final but the players understood and stuck to the plan,” Walsh noted.
Remarkable receptionWhile the team received a heroes’ welcome on return on Saturday night, a little bit of Indian pride seemed to have seeped into Walsh as well.
“It was a remarkable reception, never seen in hockey. I am more delighted for the players, they got what they deserve. I think the frenzy is mainly because the gold came against the run of play for so long. Now, the people feel may be there is still life in it.
“It makes me feel energetic and my blood starts to rise – not boil, though, like Sreejesh – but it’s a great feeling. I am not underestimating anyone, but now, you have a modern set of hockey heroes and do not have to look at guys who won 20 years ago. These are the guys who should be taking the limelight from hereon,” Walsh said.
As for bringing the masala (flair and individual brilliance) back in Indian hockey, Walsh is unperturbed. “Removing it just happened, to make sure that the other pieces we were keen on fitted in. That’s not a big problem. It is something inherent in the Indian players and we are trying to bring it back, we can bring it back easily.”
