New Delhi: Hockey coach Terry Walsh lashed out on Thursday as the national probables’ preparatory camp for the upcoming World Cup is being held in searing Delhi heat instead of cooler conditions elsewhere.
Walsh indirectly took a dig at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and said his first choice for the camp was always SAI’s South Centre in Bangalore.
Asked if it made sense to hold a camp in conditions where the maximum temeperature is 43 degrees celsius while the World Cup will be held in The Netherlands, Walsh sarcastically retorted, “Is there a choice? It’s not in my hands. I always wanted the camp to be held in Bangalore but for that we needed to put in place a new turf.
“Bangalore’s climate is much more pleasant. But in the end it’s all about inefficiency, poor plannning and poor management,” an angry Walsh said after the team’s training session in sultry conditions here.
“It is not us who suffer, it is the players who suffer,” he added.
The camp of the senior men’s team was shifted out of Bangalore in August last year because of a worn-out astroturf, which resulted in injuries to key players like Gurmail Singh, Harbir Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, and SV Sunil.
This year’s World Cup will be held from May 31 to June 15 in The Hague where maximum temperatures will be around 15-20 degrees.
Walsh also rued the absence of astroturf at places that are at higher altitudes.
“Do we have turfs in hilly places? I would have loved to have the camp in such places but for that we need turfs. As far my knowledge, we have a turf in Manipur but all the facilities that modern day hockey demands were not there,” he said.
Walsh, however, said that things would have been much more difficult for Indian players if the temperatures were below 10 degrees celsius during the World Cup.
Talking about his wards’ preparation for the tournament, the Australian emphasised on the “physiological change” the players undrwent during the team’s recent Europe tour.
“There are no second thoughts on how hard our players have worked throughout the training. It is indeed a very big physiological change. The team played with much more confidence. It proves that the European Tour was a constructive one with hardly any negatives,” he said.
India will depart on May 22 and will play two practice matches against South Africa and Argentina before the tournament begins. (PTI)