The Indian team for Azlan Shah hockey tournament has been dubbed variously as inexperienced, weak, experimental and under-prepared. Of all these, perhaps only the last has some truth to it. This will be the first major competition for India after the Asian Games and while all the other teams have been playing tests or some tournament, the Indian players had to start from a scratch during the national camp in New Delhi. However, the way the players prepared under new chief coach Harendra Singh, it will be wrong to say they have been taking the event lightly.
Most of the days there were two sessions of practice, sometimes even three, with the players sweating it out for almost 8-10 hours either on the field or the gym every day. It is a mark of the players' improved fitness that, except for freak injuries to a couple of players, none of them developed cramps or missed training due to injury for a single day. In Delhi, where the temperatures have been high since middle of April, that is no mean achievement, credit for which should go to the support staff of trainer Pradip Dutta and physiotherapist Shrikant Iyengar.

Other than that, saying this is a weak team will be wrong. While it is true that many senior players are missing for different reasons, those who have made the cut for the 18-member squad are no novices. Many among them, like Rupinder Pal Singh and Vikas Sharma, have already earned India caps and were part of the Azlan Shah last year as well, so they know what to expect. In the end, no senior player was dropped for reasons unknown -- unlike in the past, when there were question marks over selections or droppings -- and when certain names cropped up, there was a logical reason from the coach to explain the absence (case in point is VS Vinaya, who is extremely talented but unfortunately has a much longer recovery period after breakdowns than the team can afford).

Also, one has to remember that the Azlan Shah is, in a way, the beginning of international season for most teams. And with major tournaments like the Champions Trophy, the Olympic qualifiers and the Olympics coming up in the next 18 months, every team will be looking to test their bench strength. For India to also try and do the same is not something for which they must be blamed.
That said, it is a good thing for the Indian youngsters that, except for Australia, most of the teams have named decently strong squads. It is easier for teams like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Great Britain since they have already qualified for the London Olympics next year. For India, there is little time to iron out the glitches before the qualifiers -- every member of the squad and staff is aware that missing the bus for a second straight Olympics (after Beijing) will be the deathknell for hockey in the country -- and so the emphasis on making the most of the time they have.

The 18-member composition of the Indian team is a mix of experience and youngsters. It may be true that India doesn't have a big enough pool to pick and choose players, which is a concern, but it is equally true that making the most of what you have is what counts (like in New Zealand). In that sense, a decent performance in Azlan Shah by India will not only be a big boost but also heartening. And while performance in the Azlan Shah cannot be termed a turnaround in fortunes in haste, it will surely go to help raise the confidence of players in an important year. Winning is a habit and every small bit will help the Indian team. Don't forget, the joint defending champions did manage to carry the momentum to win a CWG silver last year and were definitely the best team at the Asian Games despite winning bronze.