Tough times ahead for Nobbs & Co.

Reet Oberoi

The look on their faces said it all as the Indian hockey team walked out of the pitch after thei 1-3 loss to New Zealand in the Group B encounter at the Riverbank Arena in London.

Heads bowed, shoulders down, sullen faces.. it showed what they had missed on the day.

New Zealand, ranked seventh in the world, weren’t the most easiest teams to face, but for India to keep their hopes intact, a win on Wednesday was necessary.

Chief coach Michael Nobbs blamed the forwardline for “missing the chances”, but there will be bigger questions that the team and the coaching staff will have to answer.
True, India were not expected to win a medal at the 31st Olympic Games — a tournament they dominated in the past — but a respectable display, stomach to fight and playing free attacking hockey was the need of the hour.

Barring the 15 minutes of the second half against the Netherlands, and the 10 minutes of authoritative play against the New Zealand today, the team have looked woefully out of depth.

“We will do a video assessment tonight,” said coach Nobbs after the match. “There was a lot of missing and the players thought they had won the game in the first three minutes when they scored. There were still 67 minutes to go, and I think everyone forgot it.”

Playing at the big stage — a reason Nobbs had cited after the opening game — did not hold any water today. New Zealand, though fit and agile, should not have beyond India’s reach.

Vice-captain and midfielder Sardar Singh said the forwardline will need to be more focused in the attacking circle.

“I think all of us are repeating the same mistakes again and again. We cannot be lethargic or go easy at this level,” Sardar said.

“You do not get many chances at this level and we will need to be much more sharper and focused.”

India now face defending champions Germany day after, and any chance of making it to the top six will end if they lose this match.

Nobbs said the coaching staff will take corrective measures ahead of the next match.
“It has been a story of missed chances.. or may be we are unable to execute our plans well. We will need to be more thorough,” he said.