The Indian men’s hockey team will look to deliver a disciplined performance and avoid unnecessary cards to get back on track against Canada in the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.
After a massive 11–0 win over Ghana in their first match, India A three-goal advantage was lost and hosts England registered a 4-4 win in their second Pool B match.
The Indians got off to a good start and dominated the first two quarters to take a comfortable 3-0 lead at halftime. But the British worked hard to dodge the Indians in the last two quarters.
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England were also helped twice by three cards to India’s Varun Kumar, one for five minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second half, plus a 10-minute suspension for Gurjant Singh in the final quarter for dangerous play. .
England made full use of those lapses to put pressure on the Indian defense and they eventually came under pressure to share the spoils.
India vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh admitted that he needs to be more disciplined going forward.
“Our spectacular win against Ghana was the perfect way to start our Commonwealth Games campaign. But we are a little disappointed with our performance against England.
“There are many lessons for us from that match, especially when it comes to discipline and when we have a good lead on the board, we don’t let our guard down,” he added.
The Indians are placed second in the pool with four points from one win and one draw, while England lead with seven points from three matches.
A win against Canada will cement India’s position in the group and take them a step ahead in the semi-finals.
In terms of form and rankings, it will be easy for India. While India ranks fifth in the world, Canada is down at 13th.
India last played against Canada in the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, a 7-3 win by the Manpreet Singh-led side.
The Indians would like to play to their strengths despite the draw against England, which is attacking hockey. However, when doing so, they will need to be decently careful.
Harmanpreet said, “Canada are a tough opponent, it’s been a while since we’ve faced them in any official tournament, but our plan is clear and the players are fully prepared to implement it as we have for this game.” The preparation is tight.”
After Canada, India will conclude their pool engagement with a match against Wales on Thursday.
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