Yet another foreign coach seems to have burnt his hands while dealing with India's hockey administrators in an attempt to resurrect the national game.
Yet another foreign coach seems to have burnt his hands while dealing with India's hockey administrators in an attempt to resurrect the national game.
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Australian Ric Charlesworth struggled to cope with the Indian Olympic Association last year and returned home utterly disappointed. And this year, Spaniard Jose Brasa is having his patience tested by the newly-formed Hockey India (HI).
"I had asked for some basicu00a0 equipment like GPS software, laptops, soft balls, etc, which HI promised to deliver but haven't. My requests for a video analyst have also fallen on deaf years," Brasa told mediapersons yesterday on the sidelines of the national camp at the Balewadi Sports Complex here.u00a0
Of all his needs however, the Spaniard is most disappointed with the delay in the appointment of a sports psychologist. Brasa had suggested the name of fellow Spaniard Eneko Larumbe, currently assisting at Real Madrid FC. "HI interviewed Larumbe in Delhi sometime ago and even promised him a contract but there has been no development on that front thereafter," he added.
"A sports psychologist is very important to a team. He travels with the team and forms an absolutely essential partnership with the coach in bringing about the mental conditioning of the players," he added.
Brasa however is impressed with the Indian players' commitment to the sport and country.
"HI have quite a few regulations when it comes to national players participating in European Leagues. And, it's incredible to see the way the players abide by these regulations and prefer to stay with the national team despite knowing that they can make much more money playing at the club level in Europe," said Brasa.
Meanwhile, ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh is likely to miss the upcoming four-nation Champions Challenge in Argentina due to a back injury. But Brasa is not too worried. "Sandeep shouldn't be out for very long. This is an importantu00a0 period for us keeping in mind next year's World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games," he said.
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