Star forward Gagan Ajit Singh hasidentified lack of communication as one the reasons for the hockey team's last minute choking, which again came to thefore despite India's back-to-back trophy wins at Hamburgand Perth.
Gagan, player of the tournament at Hamburg, said thoughthe team was doing well in most of the departments, concedinggoals in the last minutes of a match was an area of concern.
"We conceded a goal against Germany in the dying minutesand (earlier in Australia) Pakistan scored in the last secondswhich helped them to force a draw," he said emphasising morecommunication among the players was needed to overcomethis problem.
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Gagan said the team will be working hardto improve on the weak areas to make it three in a row at the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands in August.
"With two important tournament victories under our belt,the team morale has got a tremendous boost. However, thereare some weak areas which we are working on to ensure that thecurrent dream run continues," he said.
The Punjab Police officer said the team had also improved in penalty cornerconversions. "We are improving inthis area and in Hamburg we converted eight goals while in(last month's three-nation invitational tournament) Australiawe converted six goals."
Asked which match at Hamburg was the toughest, Gagan saidplaying against world champions Germany was always achallenge. "We played very good hockey against them even as thepressure of the local crowd is there against you."
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On what he had done to improve his own game, Gagan said hehad worked hard at receiving the ball. "I have put in hardwork in this department and captain Dhanraj Pillay gave mesome tips and encouraged me. More practice and a boost inconfidence helped me do better."
He said the team had been, in the recent past,concentrating hard on playing attacking hockey. "Earlier, we used to go on the defensive during the opening session but nowwe attack right from the word go which puts pressure on theopposition. With this strategy, we have been scoring goals inthe first half as the team playing against us comes under lotof pressure."
Gagan also pointed to the present senior-juniorcombination as the mantra for the team's recent successes. "All the players have good understanding and this is helpingthe team's cause. The junior members are supported by theseniors and we learn a lot from their techniques," hesaid.
On what was in store, Gagan said the team would not sit onits laurels, but work hard to bring back the lost glory toIndian hockey.
"You know, even the FIH (world hockey body) president haspraised our team on its performance," he said.
PTI
