Our performance was pathetic: Ajit Pal

NEW DELHI: Former captain Ajit Pal Singh expressed his disappointment with the Indian hockey team's performance in the junior World Cup and said that the time has come for the country to produce results. "Their performance was very disappointing. I never imagined they would finish tenth. I was expecting them to be among the top four teams," Ajit Pal told TOI on MOnday.
"They were pathetic in the entire tournament. They struggled in the matches against Canada and South Korea. We always conceded a goal in the beginning and then we panicked. That was the story throughout the tournament," he added.
When asked as to what the team was lacking, he said, "Despite having five to six senior players in the team, we could not do well. Our goalkeeping was poor. We need to do a lot of work in that area. Same is the case with defence. We gave a lot of open spaces to the opponents to come and attack. Missing chances to score goals is another area of concern. This has been the scenario for a long time."
Ajit Pal, under whom India won their only World Cup in 1975, also said that bringing foreign coaches for different teams hasn't helped much. "I don't know what these coaches are doing. We have brought in all these foreign experts, physical trainers and scientific staff but the performance is still below par. Where have we reached?"