'No over-dependence on Harmanpreet Singh': Graham Reid confident before Hockey WC

Odisha is gearing up for the upcoming 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup to be held from 13th January to 29th January with new world-class stadiums and a lot of new infrastructure and glamour in the cities of Rourkela and Bhubaneswar.

With the Indian fans gearing up to support the home team, India has named a strong lineup with hopes of finishing on the podium after 47 years.

The Bridge sat down with the head coach of the Indian team, Graham Reid, to understand the approach and tactics of the Indian team going into the World Cup.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: With the medal at Tokyo Olympics, fans are expecting more from the team and India is playing in front of the home crowd. How is the team approaching this added pressure?

The home crowd is always a double edge sword. The stadium here is brilliant and we are looking to playing here. The home crowd will be a great motivation for us. After Tokyo, the fans are expecting more of us but that doesn't mean the competition has eased up. The set of top teams is there and anybody can win this World Cup.

We have very high expectations from ourselves. Our key motive is to play well and make sure that we maintain our form in front of the home crowd. If we play well, I am confident about success.

Q: When the Indian team for WC was announced, everyone questioned the fact that no other penalty corner expert apart from captain Harmanpreet Singh had been picked. Don't you think we are being over-dependent on the skipper?

I don't think it is my area of concern at the moment. We have Varun, Nilam, Amit and Jarmanpreet in our ranks who are all world-class drag flickers. Jarmanpreet is a different kind of PC specialist. All of them are very good options for us. Someone like Varun has scored for us in clutch moments before.

We have multiple variations ready for the World Cup, which will be on display soon. I think the presence of these names will keep the pressure off Harmanpreet. We are not over-dependent on him.

Q: Right now there is a debate on whether PR Sreejesh or Krishan Pathak could take the number one position in the Indian team. Can we have clarity on who will be the first-choice goalkeeper going into the World Cup?

Look, I won't enter that debate at the moment (laughs). We are working on the goalkeeping front right now. Denis Van De Pol (India's goalkeeping consultant) is arriving on 10th January and we will figure this out among us.

It is nice to have someone like Krishan who has played well in the Pro League and the Australian series. It is a good problem to have for us.

Q: Australia has been India's kryptonite in the last few years. It is fair to say we always come short no matter how well we perform. The recent test series testified to the same. What is your word to your boys about Australia?

Australia is a class team. One of the main objectives of the Australian tour was to desensitise boys from the Australians and we achieved it. The series proved that if we play well, we can beat them.

I have said this before - if you are afraid of something, you need to face it. We faced Australia back-to-back in five games. Yes, we lost the majority of them but we fought them and it is a matter of time before those last-minute losses become last-minute wins for us.

They are humans like us. If we play well then all possibilities are open. I think the boys have realised that Australia is beatable and we need to play well and convert our clutch moments.

Q: Akashdeep is back in form before the World Cup. Do you see this as a positive sign that one of your most experienced players has hit form at the right time?

India has always been full of game-changers, since our playing days. I am happy for the team as Akashdeep is one of our best players. Hats off to him as he was not selected for the Olympics and then he worked on what we asked him to. I am pretty happy to say that we have a number of game-changers and Akashdeep is one of them.

It was disheartening that he didn't make it to Tokyo but as it happens in our sport, you always have your second chance. It is his time now.

Q: Being someone who has played in front of packed stadiums before, what are you going to tell your young lads about their first WC? How important are these new energetic boys for the team?

If you look at all these young lads like Sukhjeet and many others, we have brought them into the team with confidence. All of them are confident about themselves and bring that extra energy to the team. We will sit down in the next few days and share our experience with these young players playing their first WC. Like how I played in front of 60,000 people against Pakistan in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals.

We have players who featured in the 2018 WC in Bhubaneswar and someone like PR Sreejesh who is playing his third WC. It is special. But at the end of the day, it is a game of hockey. It is easy to get carried away in the emotions but we will tell them to treat every game like just another game and give their 100 percent.

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Will the 47-year-old wait end for the Indian fans? Will the current generation get to feel what a World Cup triumph feels like? We will know on 29th January, but at the moment, the Indian team looks confident with their coach backing them up with utmost trust.