But there is one nation that has bucked this trend and has established an almost unassailable gap with its rivals:  Australia.   Not only has it acquired top dog status, it is continuing to maintain it with a ruthless efficiency, esp going by the big score-lines that it beats even elite opponents like Holland and Germany.   In the last world cup, it beat the Netherlands 6-1 in the finals; something that is difficult to imagine even for those die hard critics of Dutch hockey.  When was the last time that Holland lost a game by this big margin...  it is hard to remember.  

Today,field hockey has become a game of Australia versus the rest.  All the other teams are just trying their level best to catch up to the very high levels of hockey set by the team Down Under.  And one of the principal reasons for this is none other than their now ex-coach, Ric Charlesworth.   A knot of multi-talent, Dr Charlesworth, who was also a very good cricket player other than his prowess in hockey, was singlehandedly responsible for this extraordinary rise in Australian hockey.   And prior to his role as coach with the men’s team, he had achieved outstanding results of consistent success with the Australian women’s team too.

The team is now a lethal unit of offence and defense functioning in absolute cohesion with players switching their roles back and forth with ease.  And one of the remarkable thing to note is how the Australian team is very stingy towards opponents in doling out Penalty Corners.  (In World Cup 2014, the Australians conceded only 3 goals in the entire tourney while scoring 30 goals on their opponents).  One of their defense drills is how NOT to give penalty corners to their opponents even in those conditions where the opponents are desparately forcing them to.  And this requires alertness and defensive skills of the highest order, esp in high stress situations when the opponent has entered the team’s striking circle.   Also, to not concede penalty corners even in a crowded melee requires high training and skills and Australia seems to have mastered this art under the wizened and wily Charlesworth.  And when a team takes away scoring opportunities of its opponents from a high probable scoring source like the Penalty Corner, it becomes akin to an iron curtain defence.  This then becomes not the art of defending a penalty corner where the dices are loaded against the defending team, but the art of not conceding the Penalty Corner at all in the first place.  And this in turn leads turning off the taps conceding Penalty Strokes too.

Are other teams noticing this:  esp our own Bhaarath who has stirred up some hopes with some recent good performances.  They reached the finals of the recently concluded Commonwealth games and beat quality teams like NZ along the way.  But once again, they had no answer for Australia in the finals (lost 0-4) and prior to that had lost to them in the league stages too (1-3).  Of course, it was a foregone conclusion that Australia would win the finals, but 0-4 score line came as a big disappointment for our players as well as fans like me.  

Regardless, these big score lines losses to Australia are in no way telling on the quality of our hockey (we are rising no doubt); they speak for the extraordinary levels achieved by the Australian men under Dr Charlesworth.

Are our hockey authorities listening???

Dr Sivaram Hariharan aka Shiva IYER

22-September-2014