Indian hockey’s new gospel: Speed more important criteria than skill

Hockey India's high performance director David John has made sprint the priority for the players to make the cut for the 2020 Junior World Cup.

by Mihir Vasavda


The players will be made to cover distances of 10m and 40m. PTI

On Thursday, 53 junior players will report at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) centre in Bangalore for the hockey team’s selection trials. But skill won’t be the sole criteria for them to sneak into the core group. Rather, the focus will be on speed. Hockey India’s high performance director David John has made sprint the priority for the players to make the cut for the 2020 Junior World Cup. It’s a departure from the past, when physical fitness of the players was often compromised, especially among the juniors.