NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Shaping up for Sydney

National hockey chief coach V J Bhaskaran will concentrate on physical endurance and penalty-corner conversions at the camp for the Sydney Olympics probables, being held in Amritsar.

"In today's game of hockey, besides skill, physical fitness and stamina are the keys to success," said Bhaskaran, at the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) astro turf stadium, where the probables are training.

Of the 30 probables selected for the camp, all but two, Brian D'Souza and Cheops D'Costa, have reported.

Bhaskaran, who refused to comment on the exclusion of Dhanraj Pillay from list of probables, expressed confidence that the present bunch had a lot of talent.

"Though it is too early to assess India's chances in Sydney, I have confidence in the boys," he said, adding that the average age of the probables was 23.

Bhaskaran claimed that since the camp began on June 5 the fitness levels and physical endurance of the players had shown improvement.

''The stress here is more on courage,'' he said.

Another area where the coaches were laying a lot of emphasis was goalkeeping, which has over the years been one of India's weak points.

There are separate training sessions for the goalkeepers. They involve testing acrobatic skills, ability to tackle attackers, block shots aimed at goal, saving penalty-corners and penalty-strokes.

Talking about the importance of goalkeepers, Bhaskaran observed that the keeper was no longer the last defender.

''He is now the first defender and has to be more agile,'' he added.

Asked whether any particular player or players had caught his attention, Bhaskaran quipped that all the boys were doing well.

"The shortlisting of probables will be done at a later stage and it would not be appropriate right now to assess individual performances," he added.

Bhaskaran said that there were no cases of players being physically unfit or suffering from any injury.

"Intially the boys had some problems adjusting to the heat but now with the rains coming, the conditions have become better," he added.

The camp will conclude on July 30.

UNI