Charlesworth pained by Indian flop show in World Cup

Monchengladbach, Sep 12 (UNI) A self-confessed admirer of Indian hockey, Australian legend Ric Charlesworth is pained by the shoddy show put up by the Indian hockey team in the ongoing World Cup and he blamed lack of vision for the debacle.

''I watched the Indian junior team in Rotterdam and thought they are a bunch of good youngsters. But it's really sad to see the Indians losing here. I think you guys don't have any long-term plan and you are suffering just because of that. You have the skill but the vision is missing,'' opined the former player-turned-coach who led Australia to their 1986 World Cup victory.

Charlesworth later worked with the Australian eves' team before New Zealand Cricket roped him in as a High Performance Manager.

''Just four months of training can never win you the World Cup.

It takes much more than that. You have to have a long-term plan in place. You can't do it without a proper system and there is no short cut,'' he explained.

The Aussie also felt that India needs to play with the top teams more often.

''I don't think they play many matches with the top four teams of the world. Australia, Holland, Germany and Spain play so often with each other. India should do that too,'' he felt.

Aware that Delhi will be hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Charlesworth felt that should be made the target.

''You should target the 2010 Games and start preparation right now. That would give you enough time to go ahead with a concrete plan and achieve the target,'' he added.

UNI HSB AY RS1909