CHENNAI: In a sport where 'left is apparently not right', Matthew Hughson of England may well be continuing the trend of left-handed hockey players from the country after midfielder Ashley Jackson retired in 2021.
Hughson has been a rock at the back for England in the ongoing FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup campaign. Apart from the 3-5 defeat to the Netherlands in the pool stage, which eventually cost them a place in the quarterfinals, the 21-year-old has been part of the defence that would concede only two goals in their next two pool games (13-0 vs Austria, 3-1 vs Malaysia). On Thursday, the defender helped maintain that defensive authority in their 3-1 win against Chile in the 9-16 quarterfinals here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.
The left-handed player grew up playing multiple sports in Surrey, in the South of England. His parents Jo and Eric Hughson, who were amongst the handful of English supporters in the pavilion, explained how their son initially played multiple sports. “He played cricket and golf with his right hand, and tennis with his left hand,” Jo, the mother, told this daily.
But the sport of hockey had captured his imagination, according to the parents. “He played hockey in school (in Scotland) amongst other sports like rugby and cricket, but hockey was his passion. He has gone from school to club and then the country,” said Eric, Matthew’s father.
Playing sports which involved using both hands has made it easy for Matthew to play hockey with his right hand “Playing them definitely helped. Getting your hand-eye coordination right helped with moving across,” he said after England’s win.
His position in the current team as a defender demands him to defend as well as contribute to the attack. His left handedness, he says, helps him with making “punching passes.”
“I think it is a bit of physics, like, top of the stick — stronger lever. This helps me with the punching passes,” he added.
Rules can remain the same
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) effectively prohibits left-handed sticks by requiring that the playing side of the stick must be on the left of the player. This makes all the players, right handed players. This could be in force in a bid to maintain uniformity.
Hughson felt that uniformity should remain. “I think It would be so confusing to defend (if left-handed sticks are introduced). If some people would carry on one side and others on the other side, It’d just be tough work, wouldn’t it?,” he explained.
Presently, Hughson is a third year student at Durham University and plays for the Surbiton Hockey Club based in Surrey. He is touted as one of the burgeoning talents back home, and would be keen to emulate someone like Jackson, one of the country's leading goal scorers.
Hughson recalled the time where he played against Jackson in a club-level match. “I have not got the opportunity to talk to him but as our coach Barry Middleton (of Surbiton) said, there are loads of good players who are left-handed. You can use it as an advantage,” he explained.
Belgium test for hosts
The hosts, who have impressed with their brand of hockey, face Belgium for a place in the last four. The PR Sreejesh-coached team, yet to concede a single goal, went to Madurai and came back with a neat 5-0 win to round out their pool obligations but the business end of the tournament starts now. They will fancy themselves against Belgium, a vastly inexperienced side, whose juniors don't play as often as a group. The tourists also lost a game in the group stage before relying on goal difference to make it through. In fact, the last time the junior World Cup was held in India, these two sides faced each other in the quarterfinals, with India prevailing 1-0.
India's forwards have been on song even though penalty corner conversions have remained a worry but this is now a global trend.
"Definitely, there are areas to improve," Sreejesh said after the final group game against Switzerland. "From the next match onwards, the real tournament is starting and it is really important for us to focus on those areas.
"The amount of times we are entering the circle, we need to convert them into PCs or goals or shots. And we need to tighten our defence too, we are conceding some unwanted PCs. It is really important for us to focus on the defensive structure more and allow the forwards to go up and attack."
Quarterfinal fixtures (from noon, India match slated to begin at 8.00 PM): Spain vs New Zealand, France vs Germany, Netherlands vs Argentina, India vs Belgium)
