Hockey India ropes in Paddy Upton to work on mental toughness of players ahead of Asian Games

New Delhi: Hockey India wants Paddy Upton to develop in the men’s team players an unshakable resolve and toughness that does not crumble under pressure — the very traits that made Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side a world beater in 2011.

Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said if the celebrated South African mental conditioning coach can make a difference to the Indian men’s team’s performance, he could be asked to work till 2024 Olympics.

Upton is scheduled to hold three mental conditioning sessions, starting Saturday, during the ongoing National Camp for the men’s core group at SAI Centre in Bengaluru.

HI will pay Rs 30 lakh to Upton for three sessions.

The association is expected to help the team ahead of Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China later this year.

According to Bhola Nath, the Indian team’s habit of losing close games and conceding match-deciding goal at the last moment has been bothering the team management for long and they wanted to address it.

“We just want the development of Indian hockey at any cost. We have been losing most games or drawing them after conceding goals in the last few minutes or seconds. That has been bothering us for a long time. So we thought of bringing in someone of Upton’s stature to work on that area,” Bhola Nath told PTI.

“Upton has achieved success with the Indian cricket team in 2011 and was also part of the many IPL teams besides some other big teams. He has vast knowledge about mental side of the game.

“We just want him to help our players develop mental toughness, just like he did it with Indian cricket team in the 2011 World Cup,” he added.

The 54-year-old Upton has over two decades of experience, having worked with professional athletes and teams across various sports. During his stint with the Indian cricket, the side had also achieved the top spot in the Test rankings.

Upton had also contributed to South African cricket team’s unprecedented achievement of simultaneously holding the world No 1 ranking in all three formats of the game.

Upton has also provided mental training workshops to the South African men’s hockey team, Australia men’s hockey team, Indian Super League (ISL) sides FC Goa and FC Hyderabad, England men’s Rugby team and many other sports teams.

Besides, he has worked with franchises like Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and Rajasthan Royals in IPL.

Hockey India said Upton could work till next year’s Olympic Games, provided the team produces results in the Asian Games, scheduled to be held from 23 September to 8 October.

As per his contract, Upton will work with both the men’s and women’s teams at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.

“We might have Upton as part of our hockey contingent in the Asian Games. We are eager to continue with him till the Paris Olympics,” Bhola Nath said.

Bhola Nath said a final call on Upton’s contract extension will be taken after the Asian Games.

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