Attacking game key for winning matches: Hockey Coach

Bangalore, Apr 3 (UNI) Newly appointed Indian Hockey Coach Joaquim Carvalho has opined that playing an attacking game without surrendering to the opponent is the key for winning a match.

"During 70 minutes of play, one should be on attacking mode for atleast 45 minutes. You don't have to respect your opponent too much because it would lead to you forgetting about your own high standing", the former Olympian, who is now preparing the team for Azlan Shah tournament and the Beijing Olympics qualifiers at a camp that began here yesterday, said.

Speaking to UNI, he said "we got to believe in ourselves that we are still good. If you see the World Cup match results, they were not one sided, except for the Holland match where it was a competition of penalty corners. Otherwise, the matches were closely fought".

Joaquim, who played in over 300 internationals, said "we tend to unnecessarily respect the opponent too much and contribute to our own downfall. There is a need to build up the will power and make players work in a more cohesive manner in match situations." The 20-day Camp began at Sports Authority of India (SAI) Southern Centre on the outskirts of the city yesterday and would last till April 23. In all, 36 probables had been selected for the Camp.

About players' fitness, he said the players might not match the physical fitness of foreign teams, but are more well built. What was needed was mental ability to tackle the situation and move forward.

"We may lack in fitness, but we have skill", he added.

Joaquim said that the game had become very fast and attacking.

Just dodging would not help. Indian players would have to mount attacks and should be at their best when it comes to collective effort. "We will have to fare better when it comes to snatching the ball from opponents and in clinical finish." About the team's chance in the Azlan Shah tournament, he said that "we have good players, but it depends upon the situation. How you adopt to the match conditions is more important. So it all depends on how you plan a strategy and adopt to different situations." Asked about the team's poor performance in 2006 due to ineffective penalty corner conversion, he said that the technique could not be taught overnight. "Mental toughness is very important in Hockey. Though it is becoming more demanding on the body of a player, mental fitness is also important and this is where the Coach comes in. Man management is also important and coach should build the confidence of players," he said.

UNI