India games yardstick to see where we stand: Australian hockey coach

CHENNAI: Here's a question for hockey nerds. When was the last time the men’s Australian team failed to win an FIH event? If you answered 2013, well done. Since 2014 (one World Cup, two World League Finals, two Champions Trophies, one World League semifinal and one Pro League), they have at least added one title per year to their overflowing trophy cabinet.

But, for all those trophies, there has been one regret over the last four years. Not winning when it matters most. At the 2016 Olympics, Australia finished sixth — their worst since the 1960 Games in Rome. Two years later, they only managed a bronze medal at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, their worst in that particular event in 20 years.

It’s in this context why the upcoming Olympics is of immense importance for the Kookaburras. For all their success in FIH’s smaller events, they have flattered to deceive when the stakes have been raised. It’s also why Australia’s coach Colin Batch has identified the upcoming batch of Pro League matches against India to see where his side are at with respect to preparation for Tokyo.

Doing well against India in India is not necessarily a benchmark, but it’s a good marker nonetheless. Especially because of what the World No 4 team has done in the new year. “India have certainly improved a lot in the course of the last 12 months,” Batch told this daily on Wednesday. “They did not play in the Pro League last year but they seem to have caught up with the rest pretty quickly.”

There is more than a grain of truth in that statement. When the then newly-appointed Graham Reid took his side Down Under for a two-match series last May, the scoreline had a predictable look about it. India lost the first match 0-4, before losing the second 2-5. After losing two matches in two days, in the nine months since, they have lost only two more. That they are occupying the third spot in the Pro League standings after playing four matches against two of the three best teams in terms of rankings is also not lost on Batch. “It will be a good test to see where we are as a team ahead of the Games.”

The Kiwi, however, will first and foremost be using the matches to fine-tune his squad. Everybody knows the importance of the Olympics,” the 61-year-old, who coached the side to the inaugural Pro League crown, said. Meanwhile, Batch also praised Hockey India for their generosity for donating to the bushfire relief.