Riaz salutes steely Sardar

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Mohammed Riaz is delighted to have played a small part in Indian hockey team’s victorious campaign in the Olympic qualifiers.

The Arjuna awardee and former Indian star was an assistant to national coach Michael Nobbs. Riaz, one of the finest centre-halves the country has produced in the last 25 years, was in charge of sharpening the skills — strategic and technical — of midfielders.

Riaz reflected on India’s glorious performance in New Delhi. “There was pressure on our boys before the final as it was a do-or-die match. We were unstoppable after we broke the deadlock. Sandeep Singh, Sardar Singh, S.V. Sunil and goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh were outstanding against France.

Everybody in the camp was relieved to get the monkey off our back. After the Beijing disaster, missing another Olympics was unthinkable,” he said.

The Olympian said thorough preparations helped the team pull it off in the qualifiers. “We worked hard in the camp. Nothing was left to chance.

Exercise physiologist David John ensured that all the players attained their peak fitness ahead of the qualifiers. Booking the Olympic ticket is a reward for our planning and preparation,” he added.

Riaz doffed his hat off to Nobbs. “He is a fantastic professional without a big ego. Nobbs remains calm under extreme pressure. He respects other people’s views.

The Australian has done a great service to Indian hockey by laying stress on attacking style. We play attractive as well as effective hockey these days,” he said.

The Air India officer paid tribute to the contributions of Sardar. “He is a colossus on the field. I haven’t seen a more complete midfielder in recent times.

Sardar has everything — skill, power, balance, pace and strength — to excel at the highest level. He is a world-class talent. I’m an admirer of his bullet-like long passes.

Even though he is a centre-half, he never hesitates to fall back to help his team-mates. To put it simply, Sardar is an asset to Indian hockey,” he added.

It was drag-flicker Sandeep who hogged the limelight through his five goals in the final. India had never been as productive in penalty corners as they were in the memorable final.

The strapping Sandeep converted five of the six chances he got and V.R. Raghunath made optimum use of the only opportunity that came his way.

Riaz said Sandeep is at the peak of his prowess in penalty corners.

“He doesn’t miss many these days. At the same time, we should not forget that his real tests will come against top teams such as Australia, Germany and the Netherlands,” he added.