EVEN the most skilled team is as good as its level of fitness. If the boys are not fit, the skill cannot come to the team’s rescue. In fact, you can put on display your skills only when you are fit. That is why physical fitness and stamina always remain on top of any sportsman worth his salt.
The national hockey team, unfortunately, seems to be an exception even though it has lost a handful of opportunities just because it was found lacking in terms of fitness and stamina. I am not talking just about the recently concluded Champions Trophy. On several occasions in the recent past, the team was found to be suffering from the same malaise.
The biggest and the most undeniable manifestation of this is the disturbingly high number of goals the team has conceded, and the abysmally low number of goals it has scored in the second half of its matches.
Since hockey matches are not routinely telecast by the state-run PTV, I will try to limit this discussion to the Champions Trophy because the viewers were able to have a glimpse of its team’s performance. While the team was often able to finish the first half in a position of ascendancy, the second half brought about its downfall. One does not need to be Einstein to make the simple inference that the team is unable to maintain the tempo in the second half.
A hockey match, as is known, is played over seventy minutes, but you have to be fit enough to last double that time on the field in order to sustain your level of performance during those seventy minutes. The pace at which modern hockey is played, there is no breathing space, as attacks and counter-attacks mean the ball shifts from end to end within seconds.
The problem with the national team is that while it has improved in terms of quality in the last few years, it appears to have compromised on fitness. This has resulted in a situation where the team performs at two different levels during a match. It is like watching a different team play in the first half, replaced by a sub-standard team in the second half. It should come as no surprise if we watch international teams plan their strategy accordingly in future encounters.
I have written repeatedly about the weak defence which at times leaves too big a gap in the danger area which is exploited by the opponents. It was nice to see the defence unit behaving a little better in the recent Champions Trophy, but once the weary legs start to wobble in the second half and with the forwards unable to get back in time (weary legs, again), it begins to crumble. I have come across a section of the media and some former players who have tried to use the goalkeeper as the scapegoat, blaming him for conceding a large number of goals. This, in my view, is absolutely wrong. If the defence is weak at the 25-yard line, and allow the raiding forwards space even within the ‘D’, it is a folly to blame the goalkeeper for the ultimate casualty.
EVEN the most skilled team is as good as its level of fitness. If the boys are not fit, the skill cannot come to the team’s rescue. In fact, you can put on display your skills only when you are fit. That is why physical fitness and stamina always remain on top of any sportsman worth his salt.
