When the International Hockey Federation (FIH) unveiled the Hockey Stars Awards 2020-21 on Wednesday, it received a good amount of rebuke. Based on a voting process involving national associations, captains, coaches, fans, players and media, the Indians ended up sweeping all the sections in both men and women categories.
The Belgian national team, the reigning Olympic and world champions and a modern powerhouse, openly expressed their displeasure and termed the voting process a ‘failure’. Players from other countries and some fans from India too questioned the legitimacy of the awards. India hockey coach Graham Reid, who won the Coach of the Year award, refused to be drawn into the controversy.
“Coaches and players, we have nothing to do with how things are chosen or any of the systems that are in. We only go out and play and do the best we can,” said the Australian during a virtual media interaction from the SAI campus in Bengaluru. “What I like about it is for me it’s a recognition from the amount of the work that has been put in by this group. This group can be quite large when you add it all up, like the support and the people at SAI.
“I see that as a reflection of all the work that has been put in and the sacrifices that have been made. This team spent 16-18 months sitting here in lockdown, the boys went home a couple of times while I haven’t seen my kids for 2 years. The way that I take these awards is it’s great to get some recognition for the group and for everyone within that. It’s also a reflection of hockey in India. It does beat in the hearts of all Indians and I think you’ve seen that in what’s happened the last couple of months.”
Reid, buoyed by the bronze medal at Tokyo Games, has kick-started the new cycle by injecting a handful of youngsters and weeding out some experienced players that seemingly forced Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra and SV Sunil to announce their international retirements. Reid said youth is the future and he’ll continue to invest in them and build a strong team for the next cycle which includes Asian Games, World Cup and the Paris Olympics.
“I think it’s pretty normal if you look around the world what’s happened after the Olympic Games. You have to look forward, look towards the youth and I’ve always talked about having a good mixture of players. What I am trying to do is get some good youth players into the mix with experienced players. We have the World Cup and Paris Olympics again, so we need to look at the future. A good example are the Dutch, eight from the team that was in Tokyo are finished and not being included for next cycle. Elite sport is tough.”
The Junior World Cup will be staged in Bhubaneswar from Nov 24-Dec 5 and Reid will have chance to cast his net wide on a few more youngsters. When asked if he has specific players and positions in mind, the Australian said it’s better to hunt with all options open. “I think if you go looking for a specific type of a player often you’ll never find it. Either they are not there or you don’t find it and you’ll stop looking for it. I think we are always after players who can play hockey."
“When you are the national coach there are often people who are in particular parts of the country thinking ‘What do I need to do to get my particular player to the national team’. My answer always is ‘teach them how to play hockey.’ I don’t think I am after anything specifically but there things these days are given. Speed is an issue, you can’t be slow anymore and compete at the highest level. I think speed and the ability to perform your skills under pressure in the heat of the battle is something that I always look for in a player. I want a player with team first attitude.”