Eight-time Olympic hockey champions India may not have made the cut for Beijing Games for the first time in 80 years, but four of its coaches will be at the hockey tournament to study the strategy of other participating nations.
The Indian Olympic Association president and chairman of the ad-hoc committee for hockey, Suresh Kalmadi, informed that the ad-hoc committee had decided to send national women's team coach M K Kaushik, junior men's team coach A K Bansal, Harinder Singh and goalkeeping coach A B Subbiah to Beijing to observe the competing teams and report their findings to the committee.
"In a forward looking step, we have decided to send four top coaches of the country to Beijing. They will observe the strategy and style of other teams and compile individual reports on their findings which they will submit to the ad-hoc committee after they return home," Kalmadi told reporters in Delhi on Thursday, briefing about the minutes of the committee's first meeting with Olympians and technical experts.
"We are determined to revive Indian hockey. We have chalked out a lot of competitions at the national level," he said.
Kaushik, who is seen as a frontrunner to take up the reigns of the men's team, said he will utilise the opportunity to gather maximum knowledge about the playing style of the top hockey-playing nations.
"We lack in scientific knowledge. I feel scientific methods should be immediately imparted with the consultancy of the coaches. Our time in Beijing will help us to study the various strategies of the participating nations," he added.
