‘Brand of attacking hockey worked’
TOKYO: India have had several foreign hockey coaches in the last decade. All of them had taken up the challenge of restoring the men’s team to its past glory. Australian Graham Reid, who took over in 2019, considers himself fortunate that he has been able to deliver. But even he did not imagine how big the bronze medal was for Indian hockey until they actually won it and he was in the middle of it all. As India left Tokyo, Reid spoke of his confidence in the young players for future achievement and his preference to stay away from the limelight.
How is the mood in the camp after the first medal for 41 years?
The mood in the team is very good. The relief probably is the key thing, they are very proud. It was a very emotional game. I was very proud about the way we came back from 1-3 against Germany (in the playoff), that showed the spirit of the boys. Afterwards (celebrations and emotions) I sort of understood how much it meant for them. It was a tough journey, the hardest was that Covid got in the way. It was tough for all the teams but that might have played a bit of a part in all of this. But when you go through something like that for 15 months, you get a little bit resilient and I think that is what you saw against Germany (5-4 win).
Our group was made over the last 15-18 months I would say before the Games, but it is more like 15 years. It takes a long time to get where these athletes have got over this period, and all the sacrifices that go unseen, they had done, came back in spades today.
You achieved something so many foreign coaches could not...
I don’t like to be in the spotlight. To me, it’s a combination of all the coaches that have come before me; I happened to take them to the next level. I have respect for everybody. With Australia, we always try to play a very attacking brand of hockey, pressing and making sure we get out there, and that is what I tried to bring. It was all about unlocking the potential that they had and I allowed them to play a natural game.
What made you trust youngsters without much experience of playing at the top level?
There is no silver bullet. Argentina picked a really inexperienced team, till 2009 Germany or 2004 Australia were very inexperienced teams. So, you have to trust the new kids coming through and it is exciting.
Your comments on goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s contribution.
Look, having someone like that is very good, I’m also very glad. He has been a stalwart of Indian hockey for so long. He has done a lot of background to be where he is today. The other part is that we have two other goalkeepers who have been pushing him and pushing him, and that is what you need in a competitive environment.
On the girls getting so close to winning a medal?
Fantastic game (against Great Britain in the bronze playoff), they really played well. That is unfortunately how things can swing, and they couldn’t finish it. It would have been fantastic if the girls had also won. They have performed so well. I said it before the start of the game. The team that finished first in Rio was against the team that finished 12th there. And you saw the game. I think that is the very simple way of looking at it.