Rach hits back at criticism from Indian players

India's chief hockey coach said in other countries these players would have been asked to go home right in the middle of the tournament.

India's chief hockey coach Gerhard Rach has taken strong exception to critical remarks on his tactics by some members of the team, saying in other countries these players would have been asked to go home right in the middle of the tournament.

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Rach made it clear that he was not opposed to constructive criticism but said the kind of remarks that were being made was bound to affect team spirit and performance.

"I don't know what these players have been writing or telling on television channels. If it was in Germany, or any other country, the concerned players would have been asked to go home," Rach said.

"I am not worried about criticism. Just because two or three players have been critical about me, it does not mean that everybody is criticising me. If they have a problem, they can always speak to me. I think the team's interest comes first."

Rach, who took over the reins after Rajinder Singh was unceremoniously sacked barely a few weeks before the Olympics, has come in for flak by Dhanraj Pillay and Prabhjot Singh for trying to change too many things in such a short span of time.

Referring to Pillay's critical newspaper columns about his strategies, Rach said, "I would like to ask him (Pillay) what India has achieved in hockey in the last 16 years? If you don't start changing now, you will not achieve anything for another 16 years."

The chief coach said he was not aware of captain Dilip Tirkey saying anything against his strategies.

"I don't think he will say anything critical about me or the team. Yes, I do know that he was unhappy with one substitution I made during the match against New Zealand. But it is his personal view, I don't think he is unhappy," he said.

But Rach was worried about the spate of injuries in the team ahead of the classification match against arch rivals Pakistan.

"There are a few injury problems. We will take stock of the situation. Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza is injured, he was hit on the knee. Viren Rasquinha is also injured and so is William Xalco. Deepak Thakur said he wants to play, but we decided to give him rest. Let's see, hopefully he can play the next match," he said.

On the match against Pakistan, Rach said: "Playing against Pakistan should be a motivation enough. Any India-Pakistan game is a special game. Hopefully, they can deliver the goods."

Asked about India's perennial problem of conceding last minute goals, which has happened three times in succession in the Olympic Games, Rach said it was definitely an area of concern which needed to be addressed immediately.

"They are not doing the basics correctly. The main thing is that they should not dribble in those last minutes, just push or hit the ball away. It is a problem area which has cost us heavily in the Games," he said.

Does he find it difficult to motivate the players?

"They are playing at the Olympics, it can't get bigger than this. The Olympics is motivation enough to do well for the country. There is no problem of motivation, it is a question of mindset."