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| Fazul Razeen |
A tremendous amount of work has to be done if Sri Lanka hockey is to get back to the standards achieved in the 60’s to the early 80’s. Get coaches from Australia or Europe, not Pakistan and India. This is the opinion of M. Fazul Razeen, the former Sri Lanka hockey international, BRC skipper and the first lad from Carey College to win a Sri Lanka hockey tie, now domiciled in Sydney, Australia.
Razeen married Petite Dias, the former BRC hockey, basketball and cricketer who has played these sports at representative level and have two daughters in Shamana (18) and Rehana (15), both play netball in Sydney.
In On-Line Interview with the Sunday Times Razeen says: “We must work towards speed, stamina, strength and skill. Countries like Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka have the skill but unfortunately cannot match the Europeans in other departments at the moment. I personally think that this is due to discipline. They work a lot harder and are second to none when it comes to discipline. Almost 75 per cent of goals are now scored off Penalty Corners (PC). The number of defenders allowed when taking a PC is now five.”
Continuing Razeen said: “The power behind the push is in favour of the Europeans. The stick is more in the shape of a club and the good old reverse flick has become a left handed hit. This has been mastered so well by the Europeans that it is as powerful as a normal hit. No more off side, obstruction. Playing from the wrong side is not penalized as before. Now you can continue playing when you get a free hit without passing. All these rule changes have made the game much faster. Sri Lanka has to work towards improving all these areas. We must not be stagnant.”
Razeen says that a huge factor which favours hockey in Australia is that artificial turfs are available in every suburb while there are only two in Sri Lanka – one in Colombo and the other in Matale. He also states that gyms and grounds should be easily accessible to players.
Razeen is of the opinion that Sri Lanka should start training for the 2014 Asian Games now. Start now at grassroots level. Have a pool of 30 players each at four levels: Under 17, 19, 21 and seniors. Have a regular training schedule and get them 100 per cent physically fit. Feed outstanding players to the senior squad. Be firm and get rid of players who cannot be disciplined however good they are. Select the best 30 in 2012 and keep the squad together for two years concentrating on the Asian Games. Play as many games as possible with foreign teams. Equip the squad well with proper shoes, sticks etc.
How good is the administration, do they have the power to get sponsors or the Government to support, asks Razeen and suggests getting a dedicated group into the operation and concluded by saying that was still passionate about Sri Lanka hockey.
Razeen was a key member of the champion BRC team from 1975 to 1986 and captained the team in 1980 winning all tournaments to be unbeaten champions and turned out for the Sri Lanka national team from 1978 to 1986 and captained Sri Lanka against Singapore in the Second Asia Cup Tournament and toured Malaysia and Singapore with the BRC team in 1985 and says that he owes a huge ‘Thank You’ to his mentor the late Mr. S. Sandrasekeran, Chandra as he was popularly known and concludes by saying that Brian Assey was one of the best coaches Sri Lanka ever had. |
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