Australian hockey guru Ric Charlesworth’s interaction with the women’s hockey team, bound for the Beijing Olympic qualifiers in Kazan, was too brief. But chief coach MK Kaushik feels it will stand the team members in good stead during the competition, played on a league basis. “Ric’s vast knowledge enabled us a good peep into the strengths of our competitors. We hope we will be able to tackle our rivals in a better way now,” said Kaushik, as the Indian squad was preparing to leave for Russia, 10 days ahead of their first match on April 19.

Kaushik said there will be some light training for the first two days with the focus on quality. “We will not spend more than two hours per session on the playfield.”

Talking about the team’s preparations and chances, Kaushik said the first two days in Kazan will be crucial for the team. “We are going well before time to acclimatise ourselves since the weather will be very cold there. We are trying to line up some warmup games. We want the girls to be fully charged when they step on the turf for the actual competition. I think we have a reasonably good chance,” he added.

Kaushik, who refused to talk about the strengths or weaknesses of his players, said each player was important to him. “We can’t underestimate any of them,” he said.

Luckily, there is no major injury problem with the team and Kaushik doesn’t want any of his players warming the bench. “That’s why I don’t want to push them hard now. It’s a tough competition and I want to go about it meticulously,” he said.

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