The ongoing Asia Cup in Rajgir should serve as a wake up call for Indian hockey. If the Pro league wasn’t enough and if it was considered an aberration, Rajgir, so far, is proof India has to get their act together and do so fast. They missed almost 10 sitters against Korea. Abhishek alone could have scored half a dozen. In the end they saved face by scoring late into the match and got away unscathed.
Take the third quarter for example. For whatever reason, India looked lost. They were trailing a goal and more intensity was expected. Chances were created but not converted and it seemed that the home pressure was starting to get to the team. It was much like the 2023 home world cup in Odisha. India went in as one of the favourites but then lost to New Zealand after leading 3-1 at one point. Captain Harmanpreet Singh still remembers the match vividly and it will now be on him and the boys to make sure the memory doesn’t become real again.
What has been the problem so far and is coach Craig Fulton, who did wonderfully well to steer the team in Paris 2024, getting a tad restless? Can India make amends against Malaysia and China and ensure World Cup Qualification?
The truth is India does have the quality and the mettle. What India needs is patience. They need to introspect and make sure that the pressure of playing at home to packed stands don’t get to the team. Fans are there to cheer the team and not bog them down. And if that happens there is just no reason why India can’t beat Malaysia and China and make the final.
At the end of the third quarter something interesting happened and may be it is something we can read much into. India had got a penalty quarter with seconds left and skipper Harmanpreet Singh had stepped up to equalise. He timed his shot perfectly and it was going into the net through the extreme right hand corner. The goalkeeper had been beaten and it seemed good before one of the defenders somehow managed to avert the threat and push the ball wide. Harman, normally calm and composed, looked upset and restless. He and Amit Rohidas were seen having an animated discussion and clearly the pressure was getting to India. And when that happens, mistakes are made. It is exactly what transpired in the fourth quarter when chances were missed almost every minute.
In the fourth quarter alone India made some 10 circle penetrations. And yet the equaliser was alluding them till Mandeep managed to push it in from close range.
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Malaysia, India’s opponent today, are no pushovers. They have momentum having beaten China by two goals and India will need to push the bar by a few notches to ensure that things are all back on track by tonight. Adversity brings out the best in Champions and this Indian team is one. May be tonight is their night and we will have answers to all the questions raised here. All the best to Harman and the boys.
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