Bengaluru, 09 April 2019: As part of their preparations for the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers, Hockey India has invited former Australian striker Kieran Govers to work with the Indian Men’s Hockey Team strikers during the on-going National Camp which commenced on 8 April 2019 at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru.
Govers who was part of the Australian team that won the Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2014 arrived in Bengaluru on Monday for a 8-day special camp for strikers. “I am truly excited to return to India. I have some really fond memories of playing in this hockey-crazy country,” expressed Govers.
“I have been following the Indian team’s progress very closely and I believe they have great potential. In the next few days I will be working with the forwards to see how we can improve their efficiency inside the circle and when the opponents’ marking is tight how can we convert. We will also be doing some video analysis from the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to dissect where the strikers could have done better. The whole idea is to help improve the conversion rate,” stated the 31-year-old NSW star after working with the strikers on Tuesday morning.
Having Govers in Bengaluru ahead of the Indian team’s important campaign at the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019, ace striker SV Sunil said, “His experience will immensely help our forwards. He was one of the best strikers for Australia and he is extremely good in pressing, goal scoring and positioning inside the circle. These are the areas our team needs improvement and there are many good things we can learn from him.”
On inviting an experienced striker like Govers to work with the Indian forwards, David John, Hockey India’s High Performance Director said, “It is good for our strikers to use the experience of Kieran Govers. He has played against most of the Indian players and understands their short-comings well. Our players relate to him and since he is still their contemporary, I am sure the sessions will be more interactive, exciting and fast-paced. Govers was part of the Australian leadership group and I believe his stint with the team will help in our preparations of the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019.”
The players who will be working closely with Govers during the National Camp include Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Simranjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sumit Kumar, Shamsher Singh, Armaan Qureshi, Abharan Sudev Belimagga, Mohd Raheel Mouseen, Harsahib Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Atif Ateeq.
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