Sunday, January 12, 2014

Hockey World League Final: India to seek revival path against Germany



It is never easy to pick up the pieces, especially for a team that suffers back-to-back morale-crushing defeats and the Sardar Singh-led Indian men’s hockey team will have an arduous task of regrouping and firing on all cylinders when they take on world number one Germany in their final league tie of the FIH Hockey World League Final tournament at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.

The Blueshirts, who are blessed with so much of natural flair, often play into the hands of their opponents largely due to its own making. The lessons from the defeats in the first two games are pretty crystal clear: the boys must skirt making basic errors like trapping or passing – unforced errors must be a big ‘no’ if they are to appear competitive against Germany.

The ‘early goal’ syndrome has hit India hard in recent times and they really need to fix this problem. We are a team high on emotion and often it seen leaking an early goal not only sets us back, but also dents our morale that so much so that at times we lack the self-belief of equaling or pulling off a come-from-behind win.

Head coach Terry Walsh has indicated his frustration over the team’s performance in no uncertain terms and even his patience must be wearing thin – all the tough talking off the field must reflect in the team’s performance or else one would be tempted to ask whether Indian players are getting the communication lines right from the foreign coach or are they incapable of implementing what is set out in the team’s strategy plan?

Of course, the repeated trapping blunders and giving an indication of running out of ideas when holding possession would point to something amiss with the way our training sessions are carried out. Walsh is supported by two illustrious coaches – MK Kaushik and V Bhaskaran – given this  scenario uncomfortable questions will be asked about their roles.

Or is there too much focus on hitting the gym and attaining high fitness levels thus overshadowing the focus on basic stuff like passing and trapping?

Billion hockey fans will pray for revival of India’s fortunes today when they square off with Germany. It said that the tough gets going when the going is tough and the stage is set for the national side to make a statement.

Skills-wise no hockey fans doubt their abilities, it’s just that their propensity to befriend unforced errors is giving us nervy moments sitting in front of the idiot box.

Notwithstanding the current demoralized state, one hopes India seeks a revival path against Germany.










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