New Delhi: As there is no pressure of Olympic qualification on the players, the Indian hockey team will focus on the mental aspect of the game at the FIH World League Semifinals in Belgium to prepare for the bigger challenges in the future.
The team looked in a relaxed mood on the eve of the departure for Belgium and despite the absence of key players VR Raghunath, SV Sunil, Kothajit Singh (all injured), head coach Paul van Ass and captain Sardar Singh are not overtly worried.
While Sunil and Kothajit were ruled out recently, the coach on Friday informed that Raghunath has also been ruled out after injuring his hamstring during parctice.
Rupinderpal Singh will take place of Raghunath while Devender Walmiki and Satbir Singh are the other replacements in the team.
Rupinder, though, will not play in his usual position at the back but will be tried from the lines on both the sides. The good news is that Gurbaj Singh, who was hit on the nose, has started practising and will not miss the tournament.
Van Ass is applying the Leary Rose's model, which focuses on interpersonal relationship between people, to help the players understand each other better.
"Finishing is like defence. We have to make sure that we have a fair chance and that's a team effort. You can train for that but biggest part is execution. That's a mental aspect. Of course, we are working on that. You have to grab tiny chances that can make a big difference," Van Ass said ahead of a practice session at Major Dhyan Chand National stadium here.
Van Ass went on to add that injuries are part and parcel of the game.
"It will always happen. It happens when you push the level and intensity up while training. When you raise the level, it is severe on the body. But I take it as it is, key players are missing but it's also an opportunity for others. If one is missing, the other can step up," he said.
The coach said the players have "realised" their mistakes in the defence.
"We need to close the space. We have changed [tactics] and we have to work on that. We are doing parctice but we have to see how it works under pressure."
Rupinder, who was initially dropped, said it will be a challenge for him to adapt to the new position.
"I did not want to come back to team like this. I feel for Raghunath. But now I have to prove that I am good enough. I have to be mentally prepared since playing from a different position is difficult. If I miss a penalty corner, it will add to pressure on me," he said.
Skipper Sardar said injuries to a few players can open the door for other players.
"Injuries are there but we want to try new players. The replacement players are doing well. But still there are areas we need to work on. Fitness is there but we have to use our mind during those 60 minutes. We will apply [new methods] in this tournament," he said.
Birender Lakra, who was recently named as Player of the Year, said there was "no pressure on the team" since they were playing well.
"Under the new training structure, the players are being trained on different positions. It has been a learning period, like man-to-man marking. We have to adjust to new structure," he said.
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