CHENNAI: Looking ahead to their semifinal encounter against Japan, skipper Manpreet Singh couldn’t have been any more blunt. “I think in the recent tournaments we have played this year, we have always started competitions well but we have not been able to finish as well as we would have liked,” he said.
That is an accurate summation of how the Indian hockey team have played in 2018. In the four group stage matches at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, they won three and drew one to top the group. At the Champions Trophy, they finished second in the group stages, losing only to Australia. At the Asian Games in Jakarta, they scored a mind-boggling 76 goals, including putting eight past Japan, to again top the group.
Alas, dominating the group stages carries no prize. It’s the next one or two matches that count and the Men In Blue have been utterly disappointing in these affairs. Their record in semifinal matches in the recent past makes for grim reading — played three, drawn one, lost two. In fact, the last time they triumphed in a semifinal was in the last edition of the Asian Champions Trophy in 2016 (a penalty shootout win over Korea).
Righting that record against Japan on Saturday — they are overwhelming favourites to do so — will go a long way in getting their confidence back for big games. Coach Harendra Singh put the onus on playing aggressive hockey. “I would like my boys to play aggressive hockey with control over their emotions,” he said. “The semifinal will be a different ball game. The result or scoreline of our last encounter with Japan in the preliminary stage will have no significance when the semifinal gets underway.”
Two of the main reasons behind their seemingly poor performance at the clutch has been their inability to score from penalty corners and win the big moments. Good news then because India’s deadball specialists have been amongst the goals. Harmanpreet Singh, one of the country’s foremost drag-flick experts, is leading the goalscoring charts with six strikes.
Against Korea on Thursday, he scored three via this source. The other heartening thing to note is India have come past their biggest tests with ease. Pakistan took the lead against them but captain Manpreet Singh dragged the team back into the contest with a magnificent solo effort before running out 3-1 victors.
There has been a tendency for Indian teams, especially when chasing a scoreline, to look for goals completely unmindful of the team structure. That hasn’t happened in Oman. “We go out looking for early goals every time,” Harmanpreet said. “(...) the team is maintaining its structure.” The key, however, as Manpreet rightfully pointed out, is doing it in the most decisive matches. Can they do it? The answer will be known in a little over 36 hours.swaroop@newindianexpress.com