Ranchi, Jan 9(.) Ahead of Saturday’s Women’s Hockey India League(HIL) final against SG Pipers, Sarachi Bengal Tigers coach Deepak Thakur said that he expects a tough contest and his side will play a tactical game that does not allow much space to the opposition players to execute their plans.
During an online media interaction on Friday, Thakur a former India international acknowledged that Pipers’ captain Navneet Kaur could be a big threat and said that he has made special plans to contain her
“Navneet is a world class player, she is very good with the ball, we will ensure man to man marking for her, she is a threat for any team we are planning something unique for her. It is a team game and they have plenty of experienced players, we have gone through some video sessions we will try to block them and execute our own plans.”
Navneet, an India international has been in top form during the league scoring four goals thus far.
Thakur, under whom Sarachi’s men’s team won the HIL title last season spoke about his first experience of coaching a Women’s team
“for me it is a new experience as I am working with a women’s team for the first time, coaching women is a different experience though I have enjoyed it. There is a huge gap between men’s and women’s hockey if I compare, I learn patience and how you deal with women’s psychology.”
Thakur stressed that a Coach needs to be aggressive to extract the desired results
“I am very aggressive person, the first day itself I told the team that you are dealing with a mad person, that’s why they call me ‘Maddy’- this is my nickname in the team. A coach has to be aggressive, that’s how the players take you seriously, otherwise the players will dominate the coach. I am aggressive but at the same time I am very manageable and if somebody understands me it is easy for him or her to work with me. The players managed me very well.”
Shrachi Bengal Tigers will face SG Pipers in the final at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Stadium tomorrow. Tigers finished the league stage at the second spot in the standings with 10 points, just one point behind the Pipers. The current season of Women’s Hockey India League(HIL) was hosted entirely in Ranchi.
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