Roelant Oltmans: “This is the best win for India so far”

India has done it again. The two-time Asia cup champions India will take on the defending champs South Korea in the finals, the team which India thrashed 7-2 in the finals of 2007 edition.

Beating all the odds and defying Malaysia’s home advantage, India played a superb game, especially in the second half to win the semi-final 2-1. Indian coach Roelent Oltmans is certainly a content man after this win.

“Oh this is the best win for India so far in the tournament. I am not very happy the way we played in the first half, but the game we played in the second half was superb. If we play the same second-half game throughout the finals, we are definitely going to win the Asia cup,” says the delighted coach.
India’s star drag-flicker Rahunath rose to the occasion again and gave India lead in opening minutes itself. On the other hand, the host nation could not convert even a single out the 4 penalty corners they got. That gives Oltmans another reason to smile.

“Our penalty corner conversion in the tournament has been very good so far and the early lead we got, paved our way to success. Also, we conceded lesser PCs in this game as compared to the South Korea game, which is a good thing for us,” says the Dutch.

The Indian team played this match without any extra pressure of qualification for the world cup 2014, because in the earlier semi-final, Pakistan lost to South Korea. So if all remains well, India (and of course Malaysia) will surely play in the 2014 World cup in Netherlands. Indian coach agrees that playing this particular match without the world-cup pressure was quite relieving.

“Of course Pakistan losing to Korea was a reliever for us and that took off a lot of pressure from the guys. But on the other hand, I had to make sure that the hunger to win this match remains in the team, because end of the day, we are playing in the Asia cup. And a win in the semis is the second good news for us,” reveals a relieved coach.

India will take on South Korea in the finals. India has already beaten them 2-0 in the league stage but Oltmans will never be complacent against the Koreans.

“South Korea is a very dangerous team. The way they played in the semi-final against Pakistan tells you that they are a totally different team in the knock-out matches. Of course we have already beaten them, but finals will be a different game altogether. What we have won in the past, is past now. We have to play well again to win the finals,” finishes Oltmans with confidence.