India should learn from Holland, Germany: FIH chief

"Teams like Holland and Germany have been using scientific means to enhance the quality of their game, their fitness, skills and strategy," FIH president Elsvan Verda said.

As India came up with a poor show at the Athens Olympics, International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Elsvan Breda has asked the country to take a cue from teams like Germany and Holland to re-establish themselves as a hockey superpower.

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India, winners of eight Olympic gold medals, are struggling for a podium finish at the mega event since winning the title at the boycott-marred Moscow Games. At Athens, they finished their campaign on seventh spot with just two wins from seven matches.

"If you look at teams like Holland and Germany, they have been working on their players for years using scientific means to enhance the quality of their game, their fitness, skills and strategy," Verda said.

"You've got to have video analysts and specialist coaches working for years with the same players and then expect good results."

The FIH chief asked India, and also Pakistan, to be patient in their attempts to win major tournaments.

"My message for both Pakistan and India is that they should be more patient," Breda was quoted as saying by the Pakistani daily 'The News'.

While Breda praised Pakistan for embracing modern coaching concepts, she did not seem impressed by the progress made by India saying they would have to rethink their strategy while preparing for major assignments.

"Pakistan have been doing reasonably well and as far as Im concerned they are improving. But you must consider that they are in a transitional stage and need more time to become good enough to win major tournaments."