Indian Domestic Hockey Has Evolved: Former Olympian Deepak Thakur
To be the national men’s hockey champions is never easy – it takes a lot of efforts, determination, and a disciplined approach to be one – Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) precisely accomplished that pocketing their third national crown at Pune, out-duelling Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 3-2 in a shootout after Talwinder Singh orchestrated an get-out-of-jail goal for the oilmen with a minute left for the final hooter – this was after the Railwaymen took an early lead.
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The triumph is PSPB’s third ever since the concept of ‘Inter-Department Nationals’ was kickstarted in 2021- interestingly at the 2023 edition in Bengaluru, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board also cornered glory via a shootout – pulling off a 3-1 shootout win over Railway Sports Promotion Board after both teams were tied 2-2 in normal time. All the finals in four editions have been PSPB-RSPB affairs – the only time Railway Sports Promotion Board had the last laugh over Petroleum Sports Promotion Board was at the 2nd edition at New Delhi, where they won 3-1 in a shootout after teams were locked 3-3 in regulation time. At the inaugural edition at Bengaluru, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board edged out Railway Sports Promotion Board 2-1 in the only final that was not decided via the shootout route.
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Pitted in Pool A, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board launched their campaign sneaking out a 4-3 victory over Sports Authority of India (SAI), pipped Central Board of Direct Taxes 5-4, ITBP Central Hockey Team 5-1 in the pool phase. In the business end of the tourney, the oilmen thumped Steel Plant Sports Board 6-2 in the quarterfinal, and subsequently pipping Services Sports Control Board 5-3 in the semifinal.
Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Coach Deepak Thakur
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Brimming with ageing and some not-so-ageing former internationals Petroleum Sports Promotion Board were made to work hard by all teams and it was never a case of ‘having a stroll in the park’. “The average age of our side is 35 – having said that all our players irrespective of their age are given a training schedule to adhere to and credit to all the boys for sticking to their plans and the results is for there for all to see,” says two-time Olympian, Indian forward and Petroleum Sports Promotion Board coach Deepak Thakur in a chat with Hockey Passion.
The battery of ex-internationals played their part for the petroleum outfit to a nicety – former Indian forward Talwinder Singh shouldered a lot of responsibility upfront scoring 8 goals in the tournament – the likes of 37-year-old Roshan Minz, skipper Devinder Walmiki, Affan Yousuf, Dipsan Tirkey, Gurjinder Singh, Shilanand Lakra, and Arman Qureshi also came up with meaningful contributions.
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The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board coach shares his perspectives on how domestic hockey have undergone a significant shift. “Domestic hockey has evolved and is not like what it used to be a five-six years back. Domestic hockey in India is all about fitness and structured hockey – at PSPB, we are focusing on employing a ‘structured hockey’ approach,” quips Deepak who was part of the 2002 Asian Games team that won a silver at Busan.
Deepak says modern hockey is all about total hockey over positional hockey. “During our playing days, a forward would only do duty of a forward – same for a defender or midfielder. Now hockey has changed from positional hockey to total hockey, where there is fast-paced interchange of positions. Today, a forward is expected to rush towards the deep defence or even help the midfield and not just limit himself to forward responsibilities – similarly, a defender has to overlap and even play upfront if a need arises. A midfielder is expected to rescue the deep defence when in trouble or help out the forwardline,” reasons the former forward, who had played in the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.
PSPB Captain Devinder Walmiki
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Skill insists, Deepak, would always have his place in modern hockey. “Having skill is always an advantage for any player or team. In modern hockey players can leverage skills inside in the ‘D’ irrespective whether it is deep defence or forwardline or skills have much less to offer outside the ‘D’,” he makes his point.
