Dress rehearsal done, time for real thing
The Indian men’s hockey team is so far ahead of the other Asian teams that not winning the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai on Saturday would have been considered a disaster. But being the favourite and winning the title are two different things, as shown several times. In fact, India nearly came unstuck when Malaysia was leading 3–1 with less than 30 minutes to go, and the hosts seemed to be struggling.
Crossing the line like the Indian side did—coming from behind to level before scoring the winner—revealed certain admirable qualities in the team—character, the personality to not give up and to fight till the end. All of this bodes well for the team at the Asian Games (they lost in the semifinal to Japan in the 2018 edition in Jakarta) where Malaysia and Japan will be the prime contenders to challenge India’s supremacy. The hosts also must bear in mind that Japan held them to a draw in the league stage at Chennai.
While not winning gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou won’t have significant consequences—they will have another Olympic qualifier if they fail to win gold—it may involve a trip to Pakistan if they fail to cross the line in China. Also, occupying the top step at Hangzhou is essential because it spreads belief in the camp. Under a new regime—head coach, Craig Fulton, joined the side less than four months ago—the team has gone away from its DNA of counter-attacking hockey. These days, the onus is on a more patient build-up, carousel-passing and eliminating the chaos in favour of more control in their play. If they display these traits in a high-pressure environment, they may be capable of holding their own against other elite sides like Belgium (where Fulton earned his bread as part of the backroom staff) and Australia.
Seeking control and guarding against counter-attacks isn’t bad because Team India, now World No 3, has come unstuck while defending transitions against the likes of Australia and Belgium and, most recently, against New Zealand in the World Cup earlier this year. Getting the team to play in a specific way is geared towards meeting future challenges. The first step is qualifying for the Olympics, which they will do as long as they win gold at the Asian Games.