Newly-appointed coach of the national men's hockey team Terry Walsh feels India needs to stop harping on its glorious past and focus on building a strong development programme, which is the need of the hour.
Walsh, who took over the reigns of India last month from compatriot Michael Nobbs, was straight-forward in his reply when asked about the corrective measures for India, a nation which has won a record eight Olympic gold medals in hockey in the past.
"We can't keep on harping about our past. It is not going to help us because the game has evolved over the years," Walsh told PTI in an interview during the just-concluded Hero Junior Men's Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here.
"When India was winning its eight Olympic gold medals, other countries had already started to put in place their development programmes and they are reaping the dividends today," he said.
"We need to put in place a correct structure as soon as possible. We need a strong development program. By development program I mean we need to build our base from the grassroot level, we need to work with kids of 8-10 years.
"As long as we don't have a strong development programnme it will be difficult for us to compete with top teams of the world on a consistent basis," said Walsh, who represented Australia in two Olympics.
The 59-year-old is also not satisfied with Indian players' mental and psychological levels.
