Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh retired from International hockey on Wednesday but he is all set to start his second innings with coaching. Sardar, 32, said that is planning to coach premier European club teams in near future.
“After taking permission from Hockey India and Haryana government, I will start coaching. I am planning to work with clubs in premier European leagues,” Sardar said
Communication is a big problem as Indian players are not comfortable with English- Sardar
“Definitely, communication gap does exist at times. During a match, the two minute break after each quarter is very crucial for he players and during this time, coach is to explain about his analysis of the game. When he (foreign coach) speaks in English, usually there not much time left for translation,” Sardar explained the practical difficulty.
There were huge discussion after Sardar announced his retirement and questions were raised of any external effect that lead to the decision.
“I had initially thought to play till 2020 Tokyo Games with the kind of fitness I have. But after losing this match (semi-final in Asian games), I talked to coaches and senior players and then I consulted my family members and decided on retirement. It was a tough call but it comes in every player’s life,” Sardar said.
Commenting on team’s semi-final loss in the Asian Games semi-final against Malaysia
“Before going for the tournament (Asian Games), all players knew that this tournament was very important for them. We knew that semi-final was very important for us. But that particular day, we did not play up to the level at which started the tournament. We played poor hockey during dying moments of the game and it cost us dearly.”
“No team or player wants to lose but it can happen with the best also. Lionel Messi has also missed spot-kicks,” said Sardar
