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Having worked in the Indian cricketing ecosystem for a long time, renowned mental health conditioning coach Paddy Upton has been working with the men's hockey team since June 2023.
Upton was part of Gary Kirsten’s coaching team (from 2008 to 2011) when the Indian men’s cricket team won the ODI World Cup at home. He also worked with the team during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where they reached the semi-finals.
The South African has also worked in the India Premier League, working as the head coach for three different teams — Pune Warriors (2012), Rajasthan Royals (2013 to 2015) and Delhi Daredevils (2016 to 2017).
In his current role with the men's hockey team, Paddy Upton most recently saw them face a 0-5 defeat against Australia in Perth. Despite the result, the 57-year-old believes that there was no cause for concern.
"The trip to Australia was very specifically chosen by the coaches of those two teams because they felt they could learn something from the other in the Olympic journey. The fact that it didn’t go well and India lost 5-0 is obviously not a good result, but it’s not a huge cause for concern – not for myself, not for the coaches. Probably only for the fans, because the idea was to go there and try some different combinations," he told Revsportz.
"There are things we didn’t bring to the table in Australia" - Paddy Upton
Upton further stated that India did not disclose all its cards Down Under and said that the team will show its full potential in Paris.
"In hockey, unlike cricket, particularly on an Olympic journey like we’re on now, you don’t want to play all of your best players. You don’t want to show all of your main moves, you don’t want to show penalty-corner attacking moves. It’s a very fine balance the coach needs to play between playing the best team and playing inexperienced players to see how they shape up in this kind of game," he explained.
"Test ourselves, but also not show Australia everything that we have got to offer. Certainly, there are things we didn’t bring to the table in Australia, which we will in Paris. It was an important part of the learning journey, and the team is better off for it," Paddy Upton added.
