As the Indian women's hockey team left for the World Cup in Argentina last night, coach Sandeep Somesh admitted his side was under pressure to perform
As the Indian women's hockey team left for the World Cup in Argentina last night, coach Sandeep Somesh admitted his side was under pressure to perform.
Thrust into the shoes of erstwhile coach MK Kaushik almost overnight after the latter resigned following allegations of sexual harassment by one of the players, Somesh was suddenly in the hot seat.
However, given he's been Kaushik's deputy for a long time, he seems ready foru00a0 his first big challenge.
MiD DAY caught up with the Olympian on the sidelines of the national camp in Patiala recently.
Excerpts:
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On the mental state of the girls following the sex scandal...
The players are very apprehensive after everything that has happened in the last two-three weeks. But they have to put things behind them and move forward. I can't even say that things like this happen because they don't. It should not happen in any sport or anywhere for that matter. So it will be really interesting to see how soon the girls get over this. The sooner they do, the better it will be for them and for Indian hockey.
On the pressure to do well after the controversy...
I'd be lying if I said that the girls are not under any pressure. The pressure is enormous. Besides, it now offers the girls no excuse to do badly. Of course, the controversy cannot be an excuse for a bad performance anyway but it now puts them under scrutiny.
On expectations from the World Cup...
Let's face it, the World Cup is going to be very tough. We are currently ranked 13 in the world and to add to this, our opening fixtures in Argentina include matches against Holland, Australia and then Germany. So we can't afford to relax even for a moment. Let's not expect the stars.
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On the CWG in New Delhi and the Asian Games thereafter...
It will be great to see how the girls fare in front of their home crowd at the CWG. I'm certain we will do well. We clinched silver in the last Games. I'm hoping for gold this time. But as a coach, I'd like to see this team regain its Asian supremacy and for that, a good performance at the Asiad is very important. A top two finish will give us automatic qualification for the London Olympics and that should be our real target. So, for me, the World Cup and the CWG are actual preparation for the Asian Games.
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