Indian Navy believes in grooming players young

The Indian Navy and Central Railway teams before the final of the Super League tournament organized by the Mumbai Hockey Association

The Indian Navy hockey team has caught the attention of many a hockey fan with their free-flowing an expansive brand of hockey. Indian Navy coach P.L. Murugappan believes that the results are down to having a young team where the average age of the players is around 23 or 24. He believes that his luxury enables him to groom the players from an early stage and give them the confidence and guidance to progress and become a competent team.

In the ongoing Mumbai Magicians-Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd-conducted Super League, the team has been displaying a lot of positivity.

Speaking to TOI, Murugappan explained that the team believes in playing total hockey – much like the Dutch masters of football in the 1980s. He says that the players are given a free role and are not bound by any specific roles. They attack as a pack and also fall back in unison to defend when the opponents make raids into their half. They make it a point that there is no shortage of numbers at either end.

“We have raw talent. Fitness-wise the bunch is supreme. What they lack is maturity,” explained Murugappan.

“Because they are supremely fit, I have the leverage to play them up and down for the entire duration. That makes a whole lot of difference. We have troubled rival forwards throughout the tournament,” Murugappan added.

Despite that, Murugappan believes that if his players got to play in the bigger tournaments such as the Surjit and Murugappa Gold Cup, they would grow even faster and become the team to beat in the near future.

“If my boys play in big tournaments, particularly in the north, they will improve tremendously. Hockey in the northern part of India is very hard. The players there are strong and play tough hockey. Playing against them will be a huge learning experience,” Murugappan observed.

“Many of them are playing in the Super League probably for the first time. But next year, they will be better prepared,” Murgappan assured.

The future certainly looks bright for Indian Navy and its young group of players.