AMSTERDAM, June 30: Indian hockey preparations for the Athens Olympics are mired in disappointing results and inadequate facilities. India lost their first match 2-0 on Sunday against hosts Netherlands
, missed many scoring chances in the field and seven penalty corner chances.
India's hopes of a victory over Pakistan on Tuesday rose when Pakistan was thrashed 6-0 by Germany on Saturday with Pakistan putting in their poorest performance of their European tour. However Pakistan went on to inflict a stunning 6-1 victory over India on Tuesday.
German's Oliver Kurtz and Gerd Rach were appointed in May to India's coaching staff to help with analysis of the playing styles of Netherlands and Germany but their experience could not prevent India from being crushed by Pakistan.
Against Netherlands, Oliver Kurtz sat on the bench with Rajinder Singh but against Pakistan on Tuesday, Gerd Rach was on the bench and Kurtz on the video platform, communicating with Rach by two-way radio in the first half, then standing behind the fence outside the pitch in the second half.
Rach and Kurtz will be unable to give coach Rajinder Singh any video analysis of why Pakistan was so dominant as India's video camera would not work during the match.
Kurtz stayed back to watch the men's match between Germany and Netherlands (won 3-1 by Netherlands) after India's loss. The video crews of Pakistan, Netherlands, Germany and South Korea, along with the Pakistan team and the Chinese and Korea women's teams all stayed to watch Germany and Netherlands play but the Indian team and its video camera crew were nowhere to be seen.
Without a video of the match, the Germans cannot analyse the match and provide strategy to Rajinder. India play Germany on Thursday and go into the match under-prepared with the prospect of a greater thrashing than the 6-0 defeat Germany inflicted on Pakistan last Saturday. -AFP
