Promotion reward for Tamil Nadu hockey’s fitness drive

CHENNAI: Saturday was a day to remember for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN). By beating SAI 3-2 in a dramatic semifinals shootout, they not only entered the finals of the 9th senior men’s national B division championship, but also won promotion to A division.

After getting relegated in 2014, Tamil Nadu have climbed up the ladder after four years. Unlike the previous editions, a lot of thought went in in the lead-up to the tournament. The focus was not only on sharpening skills. With modern hockey demanding physical strength, coach Charles T Dixon decided to work on fitness in their quest for redemption. This started with the pre-tournament camp being extended to 45 days from 20.

“There is an upswing in fitness levels. Trainer Rajamani helped the boys understand the importance of it. We set the target and chalked out a plan to achieve it. This included special camps in Mahabalipuram. The boys underwent beach training to improve speed and agility. Apart from that, they also worked in the gym to improve acceleration,” said the 43-year-old.

It didn’t stop with gym sessions and beach drills. The team also brought on board a nutritionist and yoga master for the first time. Dixon believes this step has been particularly significant.
“When senior players such as (Vinod) Rayer, Arun (Prasadh), Muthu (Selvan) represent their departments, they warm up by running for a few minutes before the match and straight away get into the field. This did not help them when they had to run for the ball during the final quarter. But after this camp, one can see how they have upped their game. Hockey is a fast-paced sport. In this tournament, Rayer and captain (N) Senthil were in good rhythm because of these off-field drills.”

Though the mission of getting into the A division has been accomplished, Dixon says the team shouldn’t get complacent, as the next step is to scout more youngsters to remain competitive at the top level.
“A few years back, we had eight-nine boys from the Tamil Nadu in the national camp. Now there are not many even at the junior level. We have to select a group of juniors who can take the team forward. We need to make sure this next set of players are equipped enough to survive in A division. For that, we need more camps to fine-tune the raw talent in the state.”

Dixon’s men still have a final hurdle to overcome when they face Central Secretariat in the final on Sunday. With the tournament having returned to Chennai after 42 years, it will be a fairy tale ending for Tamil Nadu if they pull off a victory.

Results (semifinals): Tamil Nadu bt SAI 3-2 (shootout), Central Secretariat bt Bengaluru Hockey 4-3 (shootout).