Former Australian striker Kieran Govers has joined the Indian men’s hockey camp as part of the team’s preparations for the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers.
Govers, who was part of the Australian team that won the World Cup in 2010 and 2014, arrived at the SAI on Monday, when the camp commenced. The 31-year-old is conducting an eight-day training programme for the team’s forwards, with a view to improving their efficiency and finishing.
“I am truly excited to return to India. I have some really fond memories of playing in this hockey-crazy country,” Govers said here on Tuesday. “I have been following the Indian team's progress very closely and I believe they have great potential.
“In the next few days I will be working with the forwards to see how we can improve their efficiency inside the circle and how we can convert when the opponents’ marking is tight. We will also be doing some video analysis from the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to dissect where the strikers could have done better. The whole idea is to help improve the conversion rate.”
Learn from him
The presence of Govers would help the Indian team ahead of the FIH Men’s Series Finals, to be held in Bhubaneswar in June, felt S.V. Sunil.
“His experience will immensely help our forwards. He was one of the best strikers for Australia and he is extremely good in pressing, goal-scoring and positioning inside the circle. These are the areas our team needs improvement and there are many good things we can learn from him,” the veteran striker from Karnataka said.
Govers will be working with as many as 17 forwards, who are all part of the 60-member senior men’s National camp.