Patchy, inconsistent and lackluster execution. These are the words often used by head coach Graham Reid during India’s disastrous FIH Men’s World cup campaign, which ended the team’s historic bronze-winning achievement at the Tokyo Olympics.
The choice of adjectives from the veteran coach and former Australia international was indicative of his wards’ struggles in this World Cup. This is despite the Tokyo Games squad having 12 players.
Read also: HI president regrets missed opportunity as FIH World Cup hosts bow out
For a team that came into the tournament hoping for a first podium finish since the 1975 gold, an early quarter-final exit was nothing short of a defeat.
This team was good enough to reach at least the quarterfinals, if not the semi-finals. But who would have thought that the world number six home team would lose to 12th-ranked New Zealand in the penalty shoot-out of a crossover match after leading by two goals on two occasions.
Crores of rupees are being spent on the team’s training, exposure tours and salaries of the support staff, it should have done better.
This was the country’s fifth worst performance in World Cup history. best India They can finish ninth in this tournament, for which they will start their classification match against Japan on January 26 in Rourkela.
Read also: Coach blames PC Conversation, poor defending after New Zealand defeat
India is one of only four teams to have participated in all 15 editions of the World Cup and they finished below ninth on four occasions – 1986 (12th), 1990 (10th), 2002 (10th) and 2006 (10th). , He finished ninth in 1998 and 2014.
In the previous edition, India finished sixth after losing to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
There are many reasons for his early exit, as Reid himself said at Sunday’s post-match press conference. The two main reasons were the very low rate of penalty corner conversion and the lack of finishing by the forwards. Adding to this was inconsistency in defence.
The problem of converting penalty corners was very evident as India scored just five of the 26 penalty corners earned in the four matches. This is a less than one-fifth success rate which is unacceptable for a team seeking to go beyond the quarter-finals.
Of the five PC goals, only two were from direct drag-flicks – one by captain Harmanpreet against Wales and the other by Varun Kumar against New Zealand. The remaining three goals were scored from rebounds – from the sticks of Amit Rohidas, Shamsher Singh and Sukhjit Singh.
Harmanpreet had most of India’s PCs but could only score twice. Although the penalty corner conversion rate has decreased for most teams in recent years due to better defending and use of equipment, India’s average goal from PC is much lower than other teams.
Lack of variation in taking penalty corners and over-reliance on Harmanpreet cost India dearly. In the Tokyo Olympics, India had a good drag-flicker in Rupinder Pal Singh along with Harmanpreet, and they scored 10 goals from 31 pc with a one-third conversion rate.
Harmanpreet had scored six off PC in Tokyo and had emerged as one of the world’s deadliest drag-flickers. He was named FIH Player of the Year in the last two years on the basis of PC conversions and solid defence, but form hasn’t followed him in this World Cup, at least in the drag-flick.
This is followed by an “inconsistency” in both defense and attack, which Reid described as correct.
The Indian defensive unit performed well with two consecutive clean sheets in the first two pool matches – against Spain and England. India beat Spain 2-0 while a formidable England were held to a goalless draw.
It was hara-kiri after that as the Indian defense conceded two goals in the final pool match against 14th-ranked and tournament debutants Wales and three goals against New Zealand to end their campaign.
India squandered a two-goal lead twice – 2–0 and then 3–1 – to end 3–3 at the end of regulation time before losing 4–5 in sudden death against the Black Sticks.
The retirements of Rupinder and Birender Lakra after Tokyo put India in trouble as they were replaced in the World Cup squad by the inexperienced Jarmanpreet Singh and Neelam Sanjeep Ax.
Former captain Manpreet Singh, who is going to turn 31 in June, was also not performing well in the middle of the park.
When asked whether this is the best team available, Reid refused to comment saying that he would not speak about it as his team still has two classification matches to play.
Lack of finishing was the main reason for India’s defeat as the hosts failed to capitalize on many opportunities.
Even against New Zealand, India were clearly the dominant side with a lot of circle penetration but not all of them were converted into goals.
“Ultimately, it’s a lack of execution (in finishing),” Reid said after the New Zealand match.
Midfielder Hardik Singh’s absence from the last two games after sustaining a hamstring injury in the second match against England proved costly. Teammate Akashdeep Singh has also said the same.
Hardik scored a brilliant goal against Spain in the opening match with a solo effort. The Indian attack lacked variety in his absence against Wales and New Zealand.
Hockey India president and former captain Dilip Tirkey agreed, saying, “We missed too many scoring chances and PCs.”
It is not yet known whether Pramukh will roll into the team or the selection committee after the loss.
Harmanpreet, who took over from Manpreet after the Tokyo Olympics, insisted that her mediocre performance in converting penalty corners was not due to the pressure of captaincy but just a weak patch in an illustrious career.
Reid, however, added a new dimension to the entire episode, saying that the team needed a mental conditioning coach. His comments meant his wards were struggling to cope with the mental aspect of the game and the pressure of expectations in a home World Cup.
Reid is not known for making excuses after poor performances, but the responsibility rests with Hockey India and the Play Ministry will call.
Whatever may be the reasons for this defeat, some experts have raised doubts about this Indian team reaching the semi-finals. He was hopeful that vociferous home support could push the hosts into the last-four stage.
But after a 4-2 win over tournament newcomers Wales – when India needed an eight-goal win to qualify straight into the quarter-finals – doubts began to creep into the minds of the game’s most ardent supporters.
read all Latest sports news Here
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)