NAGPUR: Former Olympian Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, best known for scoring the winning goal in the 1975 hockey World Cup final, is optimistic of India’s podium finish in Belgium and the Netherlands on Aug 30.Ashok Kumar, who was in Nagpur for an event on Friday, was asked about India’s chances of winning a second World Cup gold.He sees similarities between the 1975 Indian hockey team and the current national contingent, 51 years after the 1975 side’s achievement. He said, “Yesterday, one of my students, whom I taught a little hockey during my coaching period, called me and said, ‘Sir, I am going for the World Cup, tell me something that is beneficial for me and my team.’ Looking at the way he took my suggestion is nothing but an emotion, a feeling that this team wants to win. This team wants to perform that duty which the Indian team of 1975 did, as all the players are supporting each other and are desperate to make their mark.“I won’t say we will surely win gold, but we are on the right track to bring the World Cup back sooner and this time we will surely register a podium finish.”When asked about the role of foreign coaches, he said, “When the turf was imposed on us at that time, we needed international coaches. I do not understand why we are spending heavily on foreign coaches. We should spend that amount on preparing turf in tribal areas. Today we have Sardar Singh, Raghunath and many old players who can build a better team.“We should hand over some responsibility to them. Hockey India should select 15, 20 players and hand it over to the veterans by giving facilities and make them accountable to prepare a medal-winning team.”
