Indian Express: HWL Finals 2015: India fail before final hurdle, again

India’s 35-year long wait to enter final of major international tournament continues after 1-0 loss to Belgium.

By Mihir Vasavda

The anxious look on coach Roelant Oltmans’ face as he paced around the dugout told the story. He was giving out final instructions to the players when PR Sreejesh limped off the field. During the warm-up, a fierce shot by Ramandeep Singh hit the country’s top goalkeeper on his thigh. Sreejesh yelped in pain, prompting physio Shrikant Iyengar to rush to the field.

Oltmans was dealing with other players while this happened. So when he returned to the dugout to find Sreejesh lying on the floor without his kit, the look of horror on his face was somewhat understandable. India’s back-up goalkeeper Harjot Singh is nowhere close to Sreejesh’s calibre and also lacks in experience. To field him in a match as big as the semifinals of the World League, and against an opposition like Belgium, would have been a huge handicap for the team.

The 27-year-old was already nursing a small niggle – he had played the last two matches with a blood clot in this thumb. His participation looked increasingly doubtful when he didn’t join the teams for the anthems. But after an animated conversation with Oltmans, Sreejesh jogged back to the field – albeit uncomfortably – and took his position in the goal.

Five minutes later, Sreejesh could barely move his right leg as Belgium’s Cedric Charlier’s feeble reverse hit from top of the ‘D’ went through the goalkeeper’s legs. It was a goal a fit Sreejesh would normally not concede. Even though Oltmans insisted that it wasn’t fair to link the injury he suffered before the match to the goal he conceded.
You could argue that his vision was blocked by VR Raghunath, which resulted in Sreejesh reacting late. But his reflexes generally have been so good that he has overcome such challenges in the past. That fifth-minute goal was a pivotal moment of the match for the simple reason that it ultimately proved to be the winner. India gave it all, but they woke up pretty late as they ended up losing 1-0.

Basic blunders

This was easily India’s best opportunity to end the 35-year wait to enter the final of a major international tournament (Olympics, World Cup, Champions Trophy and World League). India have reached the semifinal several times since the 1980 Moscow Games but choked on every occasion. At the start of this tournament, even the players agreed this was their best chance to reach the final. It was a well-settled and confident unit, and Oltmans had brought structure to the team that lacked earlier.

It’s good to have such ambitions. But the players would have realised if you can’t even trap the ball, forget scoring a goal, then those dreams will remain just that – dreams. One way to look at India’s defeat would be to analyse their performance in the last two quarters and label them ‘unlucky’, as Oltmans did.

But that would be too forgiving. India’s basics in the first half were atrocious. They committed unforced errors galore, missing passes and failing to trap even a simple ball. India’s trapping has been average throughout the tournament but they touched a new low on Saturday. It wasn’t just two or three players but the entire team that was guilty of committing the error that is perceived to be the basics of the game.

Poor first touch meant India never really found a rhythm in the first half and though they dominated possession, they could not even manage one decent shot at goal. “We did not have clever thinking and a killer pass in the attacking third. We had the ball, but did not do enough with it,” Oltmans admitted.

The team started second half with purpose, passing the ball and changing the flanks with a lot more ambition but Belgium had eight players defending. India tried every trick they could – entering through the middle, from the wings or even with some quick inter-play between the forwards – but Belgium somehow held on.

India have had troubles scoring in one-on-one situations. To find space with a wall of Belgian defenders in front of them was always going to be tough. Arthur van Doren and Alexander Hendrickx stood out, working tirelessly and keeping rest of their teammates on toes as India threw everything at them.

Oltmans took off Sreejesh with seven minutes remaining, bringing on an extra outfield player. And with Tanguy Cousyns of Belgium suspended for five minutes, it was 11 Indian outfield players versus 9. Yet, India could not go past the defence. Ramandeep had perhaps the best chance late in the final quarter. But his wimpy shot at goal was easily padded away by Belgium goalkeeeper Vincent Vanasch. Akashdeep Singh too had a chance in that quarter but his attempt to hook the ball past the keeper was unsuccessful.

So assured was the Belgian defence that they did not even concede a single penalty corner. There was a controversial decision with two minutes remaining when Vanasch waved his stick dangerously while trying to make a save. But India’s appeal was rejected by the video umpire.

It wasn’t India’s worst performance in the tournament. But once again, they failed to bring their A game when it matters the most. India still have a chance to win their first medal in a major international tournament when they take on Holland in bronze medal match on Sunday. But even if they manage that, it would be a mere consolation.