Calcutta: The Indian hockey team has already completed a half-century of goals at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia. On top of that, they are yet to concede a single goal after three matches. And all these have made former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay very confident that Indian hockey is perhaps on the right path to reclaim lost glory. 

India registered their third win at the Games on Friday — an 8-0 triumph over Japan. That after a 17-0 mauling of Indonesia and a record-making 26-0 humiliation of Hong Kong. A total of 51 goals have been scored by the Indians so far. 

“It’s a great sign for Indian hockey that we are playing so well. Yes, the teams we have played so far in this Asian Games are not known to be strong sides, but even then it has been a great showing by the Indians. They have created a record and have shown the killer instinct that is so necessary,” Dhanraj told The Telegraph on Friday. 

According to Dhanraj, the confidence of the current Indian team was earned through a fine display in the Champions Trophy a couple of months back, where India finished runners-up to Australia. “You see, a good team was assembled for the Champions Trophy. And the result of that was evident as India reached the final. We are now reaping the harvest of the hard work done during the Champions Trophy,” said Dhanraj. 

But the 50-year-old reserved his best compliments for current India coach Harendra Singh. “Look, I have known Harendra for a long, long time… He was the assistant coach to Vasudevan Baskaran during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He has been into coaching for the last 20-odd years, and let me tell you that he is the best coach we have in the country. He is well aware of all modern coaching styles and is doing an incredible job with the team,” Dhanraj said. 

He is also of the opinion that having an Indian coach at the helm has helped the team perform better. “I have been saying so for the past many years… It is always better to have an Indian coach. No one will understand the Indian players better than an Indian coach. And there is the communication factor as well, that is very important to bring out the best from the players. ”