Men's hockey team coach Graham Reid meets Narinder Batra, explains team's performance

Indian men's hockey team head coach Graham Reid met the Indian Olympic Association and FIH president Narinder Batra in New Delhi on Tuesday (February 22).

The meeting comes days after Batra sent an email to Hockey India officials questioning the team's below-par performance after the Tokyo Olympics.

The Indian men's team failed to defend their Asia Cup title in Bangladesh. They later won three matches (two against South Africa and one against France) and lost one (against France) in the FIH Pro League in South Africa.

Batra, in a strongly-worded email to Hockey India, said he has serious concerns about the team’s performance after the historic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

He also indicated that the team was being mismanaged but did not specify how.

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Read: FIH Pro League matches to be held behind closed doors

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Hockey head coach confident of a good show in the future

Narinder Batra and Graham Reid discussed the Indian team's recent performances during their meeting. The head coach also detailed the road map for Indian hockey in the coming months. Batra revealed:

"Had [a] detailed discussion on Indian men team’s performance in Bangladesh and South Africa. We further discussed preparations till the 2022 Asian Games which is an Olympic qualifier for both Indian men and women teams. Only by winning gold medal in Asian Games [can we get] direct qualification for [the] 2024 Paris Olympics."

According to sources in the know of developments, the head coach explained the reason behind the slip in recent performances.

"The Indian head coach had a meeting with Mr Batra. The Indian team went into the Asia Cup with a relatively new team with some of the Tokyo Olympians retiring and some not available. The new team was selected with the purpose of building a core squad looking at the packed 2022 season and further the 2024 Paris Olympics," the source said to Sportskeeda.

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The source added:

"Since the team is relatively new, it took some time for them to gel and get their game plans in place. The Indian team played well in the FIH Pro League in South Africa. A one-odd loss (losing to France in the FIH Pro League) always happens in a league."

They concluded:

"What matters is that the team now looks in good shape and is raring to go, which is most important. The head coach is confident of a gold medal in the Asian Games."

The Indian team will take on Spain in their next assignment in the FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar.

The target for the Indian team is to win the gold medal at the Asian Games and secure direct qualification for the 2024 Olympics.

It remains to be seen how the Indian teams will approach the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which precedes the Asian Games. There are suggestions that two teams will be formed to play in each prestigious tournament.

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