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Ship-shape for Sydney

Can India win the Olympic hockey gold? Are our boys capable of at least reaching the semi-finals?

These questions are uppermost in the minds of hockey aficionados on the eve of the millennium's first Olympic Games, in Sydney, in September. To hazard a guess would indeed be foolhardy. It has been 20 years since such predictions in the affirmative were made. India is still seeking the glory it last tasted at Moscow in 1980.

But yes, it can be safely said this Indian team is capable of at least going the distance and giving the best in the world a run for their money. One is not making the forecast on the basis of the team's performances in tournaments over the last few months, but by the commitment and dedication of the 24 probables in training at Bangalore for almost two months.

A look at the boys being put through their paces at various venues in the city indicates that the will to excel burns within them. There is passion and promise, purpose and pluck in all that they do. More importantly, despite the knowledge that only 16 will be selected for duty at the Games, a sense of camaraderie prevails. Senior players (some who have played in two Olympics like Dhanraj Pillay and Mukesh Kumar) gel so well with the youngsters -- something uncommon in Indian sport -- that the exercise looks like a family gathering.

Despite winning eight Olympic golds, our hockey players still live in dormitories and sleep on the floor. No five star suites for them. This time, they are housed in the terrace rooms at the Chinnaswamy stadium, the venue of many a cricket Test. Despite the discomfort of sharing a room between three players -- two sleep on beds while the third dozes on the floor -- none of them complain.

"We are here to rough it out for the Olympics. That is our focus," says Dhanraj Pillay, the man who holds the key to India's fortunes. A couple of other players interject: "So what if we have to sleep on the floor? We are comfortable; the food is good and everything is provided for. We are here to play."

Everything is taken care of under the watchful gaze of coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran, twice an Olympian and captain of the last Indian team that won an Olympic gold, and assistant coach Harinder Singh. From the moment the boys get on the field at 0630 hours till they hit the sack at 2100 hours.

The absence of facilities at one location means the probables are forced to shuttle between the Chinnaswamy stadium, the Karnataka State Hockey Association ground and the Kanteerava stadium. If it is practising set pieces, penalty-corners and playing a game between themselves or against local teams, the KSHA ground is used for its well-maintained astroturf. Physical training and endurance is reserved for the Chinnaswamy stadium, weight training at the Kanteerava stadium.

The day begins at 0630 hours, with light exercise, hitting and ball control practise at the KSHA ground. Its green top resembles a billiard table, the only difference being the over 70 white balls peppering the ground. The players say this is the first time that so many balls have been made available for practise. At one end of the ground is Bhaskaran planning set pieces with his forwards and midfielders; at the other are the goalkeepers and defenders, who are put through penalty-corner drills by Harendra Singh, himself a practitioner of the art during his days as full back for Indian Airlines, and Ranjit Singh, the 'foreign expert' from Spain, who has been invited by the Indian Hockey Federation to improve goalkeeping and penalty-corner skills.

Bhaskaran knows well enough it is goals that matter and not the designs one weaves in to dribble past defenders. "Aare maaro!" he implores his forwards to take a swipe at goal the moment they are at the top of the circle. Dhanraj Pillay and Ramandeep Singh, captain of the team that won the four-nation tournament in Perth recently, exhort their team-mates not to hold on to the ball too long. Result: goalkeepers Jude Menezes and Edward Aloysious, who take turns under the bar, have a harrowing time, trying to parry balls rocketing in from all angles.

By then, it is 1000 hours; the morning session is over. A cup of tea and the players head back to the Chinnaswamy stadium for breakfast. That done, they are back in their rooms. How tough the session is can be gauged by the fact that some players take an hour's siesta before lunch at around 1330 hours.

Back from lunch, some use the time before the next session to write home, watch videos of previous matches, or of teams they will meet at the Olympics, or simply lazing away. 1600 hours and it is back to physical endurance training. This session is tough. There is little time to rest as the coaches keep the boys on their toes. Young cricketers from the BCCI cricket academy, who happen to be around, are advised by an umpire to take tips from the hockey stars and put them to practise when they train. "We (our cricketers) should do run like this," the ump says. "It really keeps you fit."

The session ends at around 1900 hours, with the coach briefing the players about the next day's programme. Watching the cordiality between the coaches and players you realise what the essence of teamwork is; it can only be achieved by giving the players an identity and putting them in the right frame of mind to perform. Bhaskaran and the IHF have done just that.

As the boys make their way back to their rooms -- some racing to the top to make first use of the bathroom -- hands around each other, sharing a lighter moment, one is convinced that the bunch is fit and raring to go.

A couple of weeks ago, IHF president K P S Gill, while announcing that 22 of the 24 players at the Bangalore camp would go to Australia for a short training stint at Murwillunbah, near Brisbane, before the team moves to the Olympic village, said, "This will be the best team in terms of physical fitness to leave Indian shores. There is a lot of cohesion between the players, and lot of interaction between the players, coach and management." He's right! It could be the perfect mix for India to regain the glory of yore.