'Attack was the team's weapon'

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD, OCT. 24. Attack. This was the message to the boys before the final of the Junior World Cup tournament against Argentina. And they responded beautifully by employing the traditional style of hockey (five forwards) once India took the 2-0 lead at half-time.

These were the comments of Mr. G. Satyanarayana, manager of the Indian team which won the Junior World Cup in Hobart on last Tuesday.

``Definitely, it was the most memorable victory. And, it was one of those rare performances when both the defence and the forwardline worked in excellent cohesion,'' he said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Satyanarayana, who is also the secretary of the Hyderabad Hockey Association, said that the secret of the team's success was the high level of discipline amongst the players. ``They were very receptive to the suggestions from coach Rajinder Singh. More importantly, they made their best efforts to implement them,'' was his observation.

Clearly the turning point was when Argentina defeated Australia paving way for our entry into the knock-out phase. ``That was a big morale-booster. And after that, the confidence level was on a new high. They were never dispirited throughout the event,'' Mr. Satyanarayana pointed out.

The Indian team manager had a word of special praise for trainer Sampath Kumar whose commitment in keeping the players match-fit was unquestionable. The best part of it was there were no injuries except for the two stitches which Gagan Ajit Singh had on right shin during the match against Holland.

``We were a little bit apprehensive before the semifinals against Germany which was a very good team. But, once we took the a convincing 3-0 lead, we were confident though we were surprised by the way Germany scored the two goals (3-2 was the victory margin for India) in the last 13 minutes,'' he recalled. ``All that we told the players before the final, was just to play their normal game ignoring the big-match pressures. And they responded wonderfully,'' he said. During the half-time, the pep talk to the team from the management was to maintain the 2-0 lead at the break.

``In the second session, they were told to go on the offensive from the word go. Or else, the Argentines might get a chance to come back,'' Mr. Satyanarayana said. ``We always had a fear that by trying to defend the lead, we might actually end up losing. Just to avoid this, the boys went all out and this clearly upset the Argentineans and Deepak Thakur's brilliant hat- trick in the second session dashed whatever hopes they had of coming back,'' the manager said.

For Mr. V. Hanumanth Rao, assistant manager and employee in the AG's Office (Hyderabad), it was his most memorable and unforgettable moment. ``I never dreamt of being a witness to such a fantastic achievement,'' he added.

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