Bhubaneswar: Eminent Australian hockey coach, star hockey and cricket player, politician and author Ric Charlesworth predicted that hosts India will enter the semifinals of the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup scheduled for November 28-December 16 in the capital city. Ric said this while deliberating on his book ‘Shakespeare the coach’ on the inaugural day of the Ekamra Sports Literary Festival (ESLF) in the city Friday.
“It’s too early to predict the outcome of the World Cup at this stage. But I think India have the capacity to reach the semifinals. From there it’s anybody’s game. The team that performs well on the given day will be counted. India have made a very good progress and they will certainly be a force to reckon with,” stated Charlesworth while taking part in the discussion moderated by Arup Ghosh.
“India were in the transformation process since last 10 years. Many coaches have contributed their part to bolster the strength of the team. The advent of Hockey India League (HIL) has also helped the growth of the side. Now many young players in the team have blossomed and they believe in themselves,” the all-rounder observed.
Talking about the coach’s role in selecting a team Charlesworth said, “The opinion of the coach in the selection process matters. But sometimes it can be narrow. So the process should be a collective one and aimed at bringing talents.”
According to Charlesworth, a coach should add value to the players and bring out the best in them. However the author of three books is of the view that it was not the right time for Sardar Singh to hang up his boots. “Sardar is a pretty experienced midfielder. He had a job. His experience, skill, technical soundness and agility would have helped India a lot in the World Cup,” the former India coach opined.
Charlesworth has also played cricket for West Perth as a left-handed opener before turning out to be a full-time hockey player.
“Considering the popularity of cricket, it was a bad decision to make the transition,” he rued. “Facing Jeff Thomson was a scary experience then,” he reminisced.
Talking about his coaching experiences, Charlesworth revealed that it happened by accident, but then he relished the challenges of the job. “I have written three books about my coaching experiences and many have dubbed these as best books on coaching throughout the world,” he informed
Charlesworth feels that there are no problems in appointing multiple coaches for teams and this has become a trend now. “Modern day sports demands high technical skills, fitness, medical as well as bio techniques. The main coach may not have expertise in all these aspects. Hence, he needs assistants and there is nothing wrong in it,” he signed off.
