Rajinder pleased, but not satisfied

India junior hockey team coach Rajinder Singh was a pleased but not satisfied with the 5-0 victory over Cananda in the junior men's hockey World Cup in Hobart, Australia, on Tuesday.

The 1982 World Cupper felt his boys should have scored more goals, because "that's what matters in modern hockey".

"The boys played well and to a plan, but it would have been good had they scored more goals. The forwards, particularly, should have been more accurate," he said, after the victory in the opening match of the 16-team competition.

Commenting on the wasted chances, Rajinder said more goals would have put the boys in a positive frame of mind ahead for the next three pool matches the team has to play to make the next stage of the tournament, which will see the top two teams of the four pools regrouped for another round-robin league, vying for the top eight positions.

"There should also have been more thrust and understanding in midfield," he said.

Rajinder cautioned against complacency, saying: "Once we were 4-0 up, I could see a few players relaxing. We cannot afford to do that in tough matches. I hope the boys learn from today's match."

India's next match is against Scotland, on Thursday. Scotland were thrashed by Spain 8-0 in an earlier match, but Rajinder refused to concede that the Scots would be easy meat for his team.

"Look what happened to Australia," he said, obviously referring to the 1-1 draw the hosts played with Ireland in the second match of the day.

"I will not take any team as a weak team in this tournament. There are no easy matches. Australia's result was unexpected," he added.

Complete Coverage: 7th Junior Men's World Cup 2001