van de pol great goalkeeping coach indian hockey will benefit from his guidance
Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh believes that a special coaching camp for goalkeeping with Netherlands’ Dennis van de Pol will help the team ahead of this month’s tournament in Spain and the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Chennai from August 3. Will definitely help. The goalkeeping coach will be involved in two special camps for the goalkeepers of the Indian team in Bengaluru. Under his supervision, the first camp is being held here while the second camp will be held from September 7 to 14 ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Sreejesh was instrumental in ending India’s medal drought of four decades in the Olympics. His brilliant effort had won India a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics. He said India’s young goalkeepers would benefit from Van de Pol’s arrival.
Sreejesh said in a release issued here, “Dennis van de Pol is a wonderful coach. Working closely with someone of his experience and ability has certainly been rewarding. We have important tournaments to participate in in the coming times. I think we have made good use of his time here. This will especially benefit the young goalkeepers.” Sreejesh said, “His understanding of the game and coaching skills have certainly helped. We have worked on various drills including penalty corner defending, penalty shootouts and most importantly our footwork. Will start their busy season with the tournament. The team’s season will end with the Hangzhou Asian Games starting on September 23.
India will face England, Netherlands and the hosts in the five-day tournament in Spain. The team will take on China, Korea, Japan, Pakistan and Malaysia in a single round-robin format in the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai. The 35-year-old Sreejesh said he is putting into practice what he has learned this session and will try to apply it on the field. He said, “My immediate focus is on the matches of the 100th anniversary of the ‘Spanish Hockey Federation’. In this tournament, we will try to apply the things learned in the camp on the field. After this, we will test the preparations for the Asian Games in the Asian Championship.
