Hockey: Fatigue factor worries coach

Being the only team to play three high-profile tournaments back-toback has its drawbacks, but the Indian women's hockey team will have to rise above the fatigue factor as they assemble for the preparatory camp before the Asian Games in the Capital on Monday.

The Indian women's team heads to Asian Games after playing the World Cup and Commonwealth Games in a short span.

No other team has had a schedule with the World Cup, Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the Asian Games in quick succession but the Guangzhou event will provide Sandeep Somesh's wards an opportunity at a medal. "So little time between tournaments is not an ideal situation," head coach Somesh told MAIL TODAY before he left for the Capital.
"It neither gives the girls time for rest nor does it give me enough time to work on areas that need attention." The camp will be on till the players leave for China, most probably on November 5.
"I think about 22 players have been called for the camp and they will report tomorrow. "We plan to work on fast transfer of the ball from defence to attack, switching flanks, penalty corners and converting chances which have often let us down recently," the former India international said. "Let's see what we can achieve in 10 days."
India finished ninth at the World Cup and fifth at the CWG, where a blooper over goal difference resulted in India missing out on a semi-final berth.
India went into their final league game against South Africa, thinking they needed a victory with a margin of seven goals to advance. They were 3-0 after the first-half, but when the opposition reduced the margin at the start of the second half, the Indian heads dropped.
It was only after the match that the team management and players realised that they needed a win with a four-goal margin to make it to the last-four stage as every time they found the target, the South African goal difference also took a hit.
As such, they needed just one goal in the second period while keeping a clean sheet. Somesh went on record to say that had they known the actual situation, they would have played differently.