Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Women’s hockey coach M.K. Kaushik feels that the team’s triumph in Champions Challenge II is a small but right step towards their development.
India put on a commanding performance in Kazan, Russia, and qualified for the Champions Challenge I, which is a qualifier for the elite Champions Trophy.

Kaushik hailed the girls for their commendable performance and added that they have to be more consistent in their results.

“The victory has given lot of confidence to the players. They have showed signs of progress but there is still a long way to go,” Kaushik told IANS.

“There were many positives from the tournament. We scored the majority of the goals (21). It has been a motivating factor as we were beaten by Belgium in the Olympic qualifiers in Kazan last year. So defeating them twice this time and that too, comprehensively means that the team has learnt from the mistakes,” he said.

Kaushik said the team needs to improve on penalty corner, defence and tactical play.

“The team is 14th in the world ranking, which means that we have to improve on many areas. The players need to work on the fitness level. Also, we have to improve tactically, which is a hallmark of top teams,” said Kaushik, who had coached the Indian men’s team to victory in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.

Kaushik also praised players like Rani Rampal, who emerged as the top scorer, and captain Surinder Kaur, who was adjudged the best player of the championship.

“The individual performance has been good and they have gelled well as a team,” he said.