Dutch great Lomans feels alternative to Harmanpreet crucial
BENGALURU: After a two-hour practice session under head coach Graham Reid, Dutch drag-flick expert Bram Lomans took a select group of players to the other end of the turf to work on their setpiece skills on the final day of the week-long dragflick camp at SAI centre here on Tuesday. The players included Varun Kumar, Jugraj Singh among others, who were lining up to be India's second drag-flicker behind Harmanpreet at the World Cup in Odisha next month.
But the truth, known to all, is that the country hasn't yet found an alternative to Harmanpreet. Amit Rohidas, Jugraj and Varun have also delivered, but are not very consistent.
"The tough part is when Harmanpreet is off, who is the next person? This part of the camp is also to see who will run the corners and how when Harmanpreet is not there on the pitch," Reid said. With Tuesday being Loman's last day at the camp and in India, he attempted another innovation. He kept a sandbag near the penalty spot as an obstacle and asked the drag-flickers to go direct.
In the past one week, Lomans, a top drag-flick exponent of the 90s, worked on nine drag-flickers, conducting three different sessions with a group of three players every day. Play ers were free to pick his brains for inputs. With time being short and the World Cup approaching, the two-time Olympic gold medallist did not make drastic changes to their drag-flick styles. Instea d, he fine-tuned their grip and techniques. When asked about the alternative to Harmanpreet in penalty corners, Lomans, who rated the dragflicker highly, said: "Let us keep that as a surprise."
However, he felt a strong second drag-flicker would be a boon. "It is good for Harmanpreet if there is someone good next to him. If there are two, then the runner does not know where to go. If the second guy is also good, it really helps Harmanpreet." Lomans, who also trained the Indian U-21 players, was impressed by some of the upcoming drag-flickers including Sharda Nand Tiwari and Amandeep Lakra.
Need to strengthen defence, says Reid
Meanwhile, Reid reiterated India’s defence had to be tighter particularly against quality teams. The team conceded a staggering 25 goals in five matches in the recent test series against Australia and the head coach felt that the shortcomings in the rearguard had to be addressed before the World Cup. "We need to be tighter in the defence," Reid said.
