"There is plenty of talent available in the country", D'Souza

The newly appointed Indian hockey coach Cedric D'Souza today said his priorities would be to improve mental, physical and tactical aspects and tap the available talent in the country.

D'Souza said "We still have lot of talent left. Before the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) offer came to me, I was involved with the grass-root development and have been round the country and the amount of talent available is unbelievable."

"It is neccessary that we tap the talent as early as possible so that we can train them well in advance and get ready for the big tournaments because it is not possible for any team to peak in every tournament", he added.

"We have to focus on the big tournaments and work towards attaining our objectives and from my side there will be no lack of commitment. My priority would be to improve the basic areas- the mental aspect, physical and the tactical", D'Souza said when asked about his immediate plans at the camp.

"We have enough time on hand before the fantastic calendar, which is lined up, for the boys to get good international exposure and I feel half the battle is won if we can start making the boys think for themselves and take decisions on the field", he added.

"We have shortcomings as well, penalty corner conversion is one of them, and we would like to take care of it as early as possible", the former international said.

Speaking about the forthcoming tours, D'Souza said the Indo-German Test series in February next, though still in the planning stage, would be a good exposure for the boys.

"There is a question mark over the India-Pakistan series in the Gulf in March or April and then the World Cup qualifier in July followed by the President's Cup in Dhaka and Test series against Australia and New Zealand", he added.

"We are also planning to have a training camp at the United Kingdom before the World Cup qualifiers so that the boys get acclamatised to the weather over there. Then we have Azlan Shah in August and the Afro-Asian Games in November", D'Souza said.

"In December 2001, we have the inaugural Champions Challenge in Delhi and these are quite a few important tournaments which should give the boys the real exposure they need", he added.