India coach Graham Reid wary of ‘double-edged sword’ in home World Cup | Hockey News – Times of India

“I know from my playing days, when Australia used to play Pakistan (in Pakistan) in front of 50,000 people. The nice part about that was trying to keep the crowd silent. That’s what the opposition is going to do (against India),” said Reid.
Reid played the 1990 World Cup, when Australia lost their voice amid deafening noise of 60,000 fans stuffed inside the 45,000 capacity National Stadium in Lahore in the semifinals.
The Aussies couldn’t silence the crowd then, and lost. India would hope their World Cup opponents meet the same fate. But Reid looked slightly wary of the opposite, which can lead to becoming “off task”.
He went on to explain that.

“For me, it is about staying in the moment. That’s what we talk a lot about, staying focused. If pressure is getting to you, if you have nerves, it means that you are off-task. It means you are either thinking about something that is going to happen in the future or something that has happened in the past. It means it’s a good trigger for us to say, ‘No, we need to be back’,” said Reid.
“One of the good things about hockey is you get the chance to come off the pitch and plan strategies if you didn’t play very well in the first stanza…Little tactics like that…get guys to try and understand that you need that pressure to perform. It’s actually a very good thing. So it’s a matter of understanding and getting to that point where you can let it motivate you, as you say, but you don’t go over the top. So the performance arousal comes into play.
“So it’s a double-edged sword to have such a great crowd with you,” he added.

It’s the second World Cup for Harmanpreet. He was there in 2018 and has grown to not just become one of the world’s best drag-flickers but also the team’s captain, taking over from Manpreet Singh, who led the team to the Tokyo Olympics podium.
Harmanpreet stressed on the need to stay focused when the crowd is trying to lift the team. That is when, says Harmanpreet, communication on the pitch becomes even more crucial.
“We have talked about this during meetings, what the experienced players felt at the last World Cup as well,” the skipper said about the team’s experiences of playing in front of a packed Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar four years ago.
“In hockey, communication (on the pitch) is important. But sometimes you are unable to make those adjustments amid huge cheer…sometimes you won’t be able to communicate. In those situations, you should be aware of what is your responsibility and what your next move should be. Of course, the crowd motivates, you get a boost, but at the same time you have to focus, which is important,” said the 27-year-old defender.
Just before arriving to the stadium for practice, the team had its shirt-presentation — a huge moment for every player, especially those playing their first World Cup, and someone like the young Nilam Sanjeep Xess, who will be playing a World Cup in his home state, in front of the fans who have seen him grow.
“It was (done) to get everybody used to the fact that we are going to play the World Cup, and it’s a home World Cup,” Reid said.