Tokyo Olympics 2020: Proud of what men’s hockey team has achieved, says former coach Jose Brasa

New Delhi: It’s been over a decade since Jose Brasa left the Indian shores for good, but the former national coach of the men’s hockey team still keeps a tab on the progress of the team he once groomed. Currently in charge of Old Club de Liege in Belgium, Brasa took over as India’s chief coach in May 2009 and remained in office till the end of Asian Games in 2010, and was among the first foreign coaches to come onboard in Indian hockey. Brasa watched all of India’s matches at the Tokyo Olympics, where the men’s team ended the 41-year wait for the podium, and couldn’t help slipping back into his days with the national team. “Yeah, lot of memories. I absolutely loved the players. You won’t get more committed players than Indians anywhere in the world. That’s the reason a lot of top coaches are always ready to come to India and work with these boys. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for those who run the sport in India. I am extremely proud of what India have achieved at the Tokyo Olympics, and would like to believe that I had a small role to play in the team’s success,” Brasa told Firstpost from Belgium. “Indian players have a typical desire to do well…real fire. That’s because a lot of them come from underprivileged backgrounds and their only recourse is hockey. In my experience, I have always found them very eager to learn and open to suggestions.” The Spaniard is credited with introducing a series of scientific innovations in training and fitness regimes of the men’s team, such as GPS tracking and endurance tests, besides emphasising on a protein-rich diet. While there was resistance from the officialdom at the start, Brasa somehow succeeded in rolling out his plans. A fitness culture was gradually nurtured by the coaches who succeeded him. “Indian players were not really fit back then. We were no match to the Australians and Europeans. When you are not fit, you lose the ball easily and are always chasing the game. “Part of my contract was that I wanted GPS systems from Day 1. But I got them 15 days before the Asian Games 2010, almost 18 months after I took over. So, full credit to players to come from these systems and excel. When I look at the team now, I feel fitness-wise, they are the best in the world and I am really proud of them. It is impossible to explain how hard these boys have worked,” Brasa said. Among the players he groomed were goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and star defender Rupinderpal Singh, both of who played key roles in India’s podium finish recently. “Yes, I remember bringing Sreejesh and Rupinder to the system. Needless to say, both were very talented and it was evident that they had the potential to play international hockey for a long time. However, the most complete player we had back then was Sardar Singh. Sardar was extremely fit and was technically world-class. He had tremendous work rate. Even when we stopped training for a quick break, Sardar would quietly do his ab crunches as other players relaxed. No wonder, he served Indian hockey for a long time. “Apart from Sardar, Shivendra Singh and Sandeep Singh were quite fit too. Sandeep, I still remember, had a lot of power,” he recalled. Further, Brasa backed coach Graham Reid’s full press style of play and said that it will bring India bigger successes than the Tokyo medal. “India just need to build on this momentum and continue with their full press, attacking gameplan. This will get you bigger success than the bronze medal. My only request to those who run hockey in India is, ‘let the coaches work.’”