The dossiers are getting thicker. And training drills are being designed basis that. As much time is spent indoors – in the meeting rooms of hotels, stadiums, and training centers, plotting the downfall of every opponent – as the minutes spent on the field, where the plans will be put into motion.
Every move will be analysed and each match will be an audition. “It’s test matches now. Home stretch,” says coach Craig Fulton. “We are looking to confirm our Olympic squad.”
With that, the South African laid down the marker for India’s hockey players. Over the next fortnight, the eight games that India play against the Netherlands, Australia, Spain, and Ireland in the FIH Pro League in Odisha will, in essence, be the selection trials for the Paris Olympics squad.
The matches later this year, Fulton adds, will be used to build the bench strength so that ‘if there are injuries then we have depth.’
This gives the Pro League matches, otherwise seen as glorified exhibition games, an edge. And for the players who have been on the periphery of the national team, a final chance to impress the coach.
Especially the quartet that has made the progression from juniors to senior side in the last couple of years.
Chance for youngsters
Drag-flicker Sanjay, midfielders Vishnukant Singh and Rabichandra Moirangthem, and forward Araijeet Hundal have been seen as good enough to be included in a bloated 24-man squad for the matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The next two weeks will determine if all or any of them have taken enough strides to displace some of the established names, Olympic medallists no less, for a place on the Paris-bound flight.
Each one has something unique to offer.
With drag-flicker and defender Varun Kumar out of the squad for the Pro League after he was accused of rape, Sanjay – who has featured consistently in Fulton’s sides including the Asian Games – has a chance to cement his spot. Source: The Indian Express