India's Hockey coach Graham Reid has resigned following India's disastrous campaign at the Hockey World Cup. Reid led India to a historic Bronze medal win at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Having seen this World Cup and being in a home World Cup does bring extra pressure. Sometimes that’s difficult to process: Reid said at the post-match press conference.
The Indian team suffered a huge backlash after its loss to New Zealand in a penalty shootout in the crossover match in Bhubaneswar on January 22 with some hockey legends of the country blaming Reid for the debacle.
Hockey World Cup 2023 | Graham Reid's India will take on England in their second Pool D clash at the Hockey World Cup 2023. India defeated Spain by 2-0, while England thrashed Wales by 5-0 in their opening matches.
Hockey World Cup | India started the 2023 World Cup with a win over Spain. Harmanpreet Singh's men will next face England in their second Pool D game on January 15.
India will start the year with back-to-back Pro League ties against South Africa and France in Potchefstroom from February 8 to 13.
The Indian team won a bronze at the Tokyo Games last month, ending a 41-year wait for a medal in the sport.
The Australian said that his players would need to accelerate their learning to be consistently up there with the best teams in the world all the time.
Reid highlighted that getting two green cards and one yellow card in the game against Great Britain is something India must avoid when they face Belgium.
Reid is of the view that Indians, in general, are unaware of their own mental fortitude.
The Australian coach said the sooner India gets to play international matches, the better willbe their preparations for the Olympics.
Six players of the men's team, including Manpreet, had tested positive for COVID-19 at the team's training base here in August after they arrived for the national camp following a month's break.
Captain Manpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Jaskaran Singh, Varun Kumar, Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Mandeep Singh tested positive for the virus between August 10 and 12 and were admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru.
The players might have been away from the field but men's national team coach Graham Reid utilised the enforced break by following his normal routine -- analysing the opposition and preparing for the future.
India displayed an attacking brand of play in the FIH Hockey Pro League earlier this year and reaped rich rewards for it, beating Australia and world champions Belgium.
Graham Reid lauded the steps taken by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India (HI) amid the ever-rising danger posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Things are gloomy everywhere in the wake of the pandemic but Reid and his boys have managed to keep their motivation level high.
India displayed some spectacular attacking hockey in the FIH Hockey Pro League matches last month, beating the likes of Australia and Belgium.
The biggest takeaway from the year was the progression of some junior players into the senior fold under new chief coach Graham Reid, who took charge of the senior men's team in April this year.
After securing a 2020 Olympics berth in the qualifiers against Russia, the team is currently undergoing a three-week training and conditioning camp which will conclude on December 8.
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