India not ready to play teams like Australia, says Brasa

By Sify Correspondent

New Delhi: After a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of tournament favourites Australia in the Hockey World Cup here Tuesday, India coach Jose Brasa admitted that his boys were still not ready to play such top teams.

“We still need more time to play against teams like Australia. They play a very fast game and today we had no chance against them. It was disappointing but that’s how modern hockey is played,” said Brasa.

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“Today, we created some stupid fouls. But Australia played cleverly by interchanging the positions. That is their style of play. We are also trying that, but India needs more time to do that,” he said.

The Spaniard, however, said that he was not accepting a 5-2 scoreline against Australia.

“The scoreline was disappointing, but I wasn’t expecting such a result. I thought it would be an equal contest, but I was wrong. We have to work hard on our fitness,” he said.

Despite a handsome win, Australian coach Ric Charlesworth was not happy with the performance of his boys.

“It was not at all a good performance. My boys were nervous at one stage as we missed some silly penalty corners. We were better than our first game against England, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Charlesworth, who came very close to become the Indian coach.

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Asked about India, Charlesworth said: “India are playing well. But they are playing an European style. Every team has their own unique style of play. I don’t know whether this style of play will help them.”

On India’s next game against Spain, Brasa said: “India have improved a lot in terms of fitness. But Spain is also a fitter side. But I don’t see any reason, why India should have some problems against the Spaniards.”