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Despite setbacks, Japan’s hockey team aims high
Japan’s is the Cinderella story of hockey that could inspire a Hollywood blockbuster, but it has created barely a ripple in their country.
Japan, who are already through to the Tokyo Olympics as the host nation, started their campaign at the FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar with a 3-1 win over Mexico on Friday.
Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman’s team is participating in this tournament to gain points and recognition for their recent exploits.
Japan’s is the Cinderella story of hockey that could inspire a Hollywood blockbuster, but it has created barely a ripple in their country.
When the Indian men’s hockey team won the Asian Games gold in 2014 after a gap of 16 years, the players became heroes overnight. They were feted and felicitated with substantial cash rewards by everyone from Hockey India to industries and state governments.
Budget cut
This is not what has happened with Japan, after they triumphed in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018 — only the fourth nation after India, Pakistan and South Korea to win men’s gold at the continental games. Instead of rewards, they were handed a large budget cut, leaving their Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman bewildered.
“Yes, we won a major title but unfortunately it is not really rewarded in Japan so it hasn’t changed anything (for the team). Even worse, we had a substantial budget cut so we have to prepare with even less means, have less opportunities to perform. But that’s how it is (in Japan),” said Aikman, architect of their biggest triumph.
Aikman said Japan’s national Olympic committee does not consider the men’s hockey team a medal contender despite its Asian Games triumph and thus he will have to do with fewer resources than last year. Japan are ranked 18th in the World.
“We did something well in the Asian Games; it would have been nice if we were rewarded for that. At least if we could do the same programme that we did last year, but we couldn’t so, it’s what it is,” said Aikman.
However, despite that setback, Aikman, who traces his roots to Lucknow and Bihar from where his great grandfather migrated to Suriname in South America and from where he moved to Holland when he was 12, is bullish about his team’s chances in the FIH Series Finals. The budget cut has not stopped him from charting an ambitious programme to gain as many ranking points as possible to move up to the top ten.
“We are (ranked) six in Asia. We want to go to the top in Asia so that means we will have to perform like (we did at Asian Games). If we win the title here, we get confidence that we are able to beat the higher ranked teams. That would be a major step forward”
Squad strength
Another positive change, Aikman said, is that the squad strength has increased to 33 players.
“So that when it comes to the Olympics, we have competition, we have more players. We have allowed our players to play in foreign leagues so that they can have more experience,” he added.
Japan’s star player Kenta Tanaka currently plays in the Dutch League and recently helped his club qualify for the Euro Hockey League.
Kentaro Fukuda is another player to watch out for as he did really well at the Azlan Shah Memorial in Malaysia a few months back.
On Friday, both Tanaka and Fukuda started in the opening match as they geared up for tougher matches ahead in the FIH Series Finals.
Starved for recognition, Aikman and his boys have another chance to prove their mettle.
India beat Poland
Poland have always been the bogey opponents for India and the result that rankles the eight-time Olympic champions the most is the 1-1 draw against the European at the Sydney Games in 2000. The result cost India a place in the semis.
Memories of the Sydney heartbreak came flooding back when Poland earned a penalty corner in the first minute against India here on Friday. India defended the short corner easily but the Poles did not concede many chances as the first quarter ended goalless.
The hosts eventually overcame the initial jitters and went on to record a 3-1 win with skipper Manpreet Singh contributing a brace and drag flicker Harmanpreet Singh contributing the third.
With the win,India lead Pool A with two wins from as many matches and need to beat Uzbekistan on Monday to seal their place in the semi-finals.
RESULTS
Japan 3 (Hirotaka Zendana 3, 34; Shota Yamada 24) bt Mexico 1 (Erik Hernandez 3); Russia 12 (Semen Matkovskiy 13, 17, 26, 44, 48; Alexander Skiperskiy 15, 22; Marat Khairullin 40; Sergey Lepeshkin 19, Alexey Sobolevskiy 22, Mikhail Proskuriakov 36, Denis Starienko 59) bt Uzbekistan 1 (Khakimboy Khakimov 29); India 3 (Manpreet 21, 26; Harmanpreet Singh 36) bt Poland 1 (Mateusz Hulboj 25).
