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Consistency and temperament the key

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Muscat - After a gruelling Asian Games campaign, Oman hockey team coach Tahir Zaman feels consistency and temperament are the two crucial aspects that the squad needs to work on. Zaman was talking exclusively to Oman Daily Observer about the performance of the team at the quadrennial continental extravaganza. “Overall, it was a good learning experience. However, psychologically the squad needs to get stronger in pressure situations. In the first game against Bangladesh, we had so many chances in the third and fourth quarter. There were four to five short corners in the last quarter and we came so close but were unable to finish. We have to work on our pressure sustaining ability,’’ coach Zaman stated.


Oman had wrapped up their Asian Games campaign finishing seventh after beating Sri Lanka 5-2 in the play-off match. The Sultanate’s team registered two victories and suffered three defeats in their pool. The wins came against Thailand (2-0) and Kazakhstan (4-0) while the losses were against Bangladesh (2-1), Pakistan (10-0) and Malaysia (7-0). Zaman dwelt upon the team’s inability to contain the opposition in the second half of the match, which resulted in their heavy defeats to Pakistan and Malaysia.


“In the Pakistan match, we conceded six goals in eight minutes in the second half and that was simply due to emotional excitement on the part of the players. The players need to understand that they have to be disciplined consistently and not just the first half of the game,’’ he added.


Elaborating further about the temperament of the players in crucial junctures, Zaman felt that the domestic club structure had a factor to play here.


“What happens at the club level is that they would rely on two or three players to deliver the goods and these players would have the freedom to play in their own way. But, at the international level and in high-performance hockey it is about play according to the requirements of the team and maintaining discipline. We have some very talented players and they have to know where and how to use their skills the best,’’ the 1994 World Cup winner said.


Talking about the way forward, Zaman said that he is planning to have a talk with the clubs to request them to incorporate elements of the high performance hockey structure. “I will take up this with the clubs and hopefully if they can bring in some changes that will help our national team as well,’’ he added. Zaman also felt he would be looking at having one-on-one meetings with the players to address strategies and tactics better and get their point of view as well.


Talking about the area where the national team has shown marked improvement, Zaman revealed it was the technical and tactical aspects.


“I feel the boys have a much better technical and tactical understanding of the game now. In terms of their attacking and defensive strategies they are in better positions. It is all about showing consistency and discipline in their game otherwise I have belief in their potential,’’ Zaman explained.


ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY


With the much awaited Asian Champions Trophy set to begin next month, Zaman is excited and eagerly looking forward to the tournament.


“The highest ranked teams in Asia will be there, the giants of Asian hockey. We will continue to work on our game and hopefully create one or two upsets,’’ he added. The coach felt ultimately it would be a huge learning curve for the Omani players to compete against the top ranked Asian teams. “Our boys would be learning a lot by playing the bigger teams. Earlier, when I had joined they had the fear of facing the big teams but now there is no fear,’’ Zaman concluded.


Haridev Pushparaj


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