HOCKEY WORLD LEAGUE Jasjit, Lalit in as Rupinder dropped
In a bid to “improve on bench strength” and “prepare the team for new, difficult situations”, chief coach Paul van Ass on Tuesday made a number of changes to the 18- member squad for the Hockey World League semi- finals in Belgium next month.
Drag- flicker Rupinderpal Singh, a regular member of the side since the last two years, has been dropped, while youngsters Gurmail Singh and Jasjit Singh Kular have been given a chance in the defence line.
Midfielder S. K. Uthappa makes way for the 22- yearold Lalit Upadhyay. In the attack, Yuvraj Walmiki makes a comeback, while S. V. Sunil returns from an injury layoff.
The World League semifinals — a qualifying event for the Olympic Games and the World Cup — will be a true test of ability for the Dutchman, who took over ahead of the Azlan Shah tournament in March this year.
“Rupinder is not part of the squad for the World League semi- finals and the line of thought with this is to see how the players can perform and adapt to different situations. It is good to try something different now rather than being stuck in a situation where we would not have the time to try this kind of a variation.
“Also I am opting for new athleticism in that position while I understand we have one drag- flicker less, we have to understand that it is selection time and you have to be the best you can be.
“The players left out from this squad are not gone, we have a new core group of 33 players and from that group, I can try new variations. This will keep them on toes and they know they have to keep fighting for a position in the team and this will continue until Rio.” FOCUS ON ‘ ME AND MY
TASK’ Among the many things that van Ass is trying to teach the team, the foremost is focusing on the mental part. Called “me and my task”, the coach has urged the players to eliminate the “outside factors” that could affect their performance in any way.
“It is called the six circles. See, besides the technical and tactical aspects which are very important to build a team and its structure, the coach stresses on putting them in use in a very effective manner. “All of us have been told about the six circles. And they could be anything ranging from match conditions to umpires taking a wrong call, problems with family, different ground and weather conditions,” explains midfielder Manpreet Singh.
“The coach says it’s important to learn to shut out such factors and not give such excuses after a loss or poor performance. It is significant to perform to the utmost under all circumstances and to be able to maintain a high level of performance.”