The Tribune: A brave new India in Ipoh

Ahead of Rio Olympics, Oltmans-coached side returns from Azlan hockey with many positives

Indervir Grewal
Tribune News service
Chandigarh, April 19

It turned out to be a clichéd ending to an otherwise refreshing script. A realistic ending, but maybe not for the eternal hopefuls, who would have loved to see India slay the mighty Australians. The realists, though not really surprised, would have hoped for a not-so-bitter pill to swallow.

Both were disappointed — there was no beating Australia in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, nor was there that one Indian goal at least that would have helped the team, and the fans, save face.

It is important to remember that the Ipoh (Malaysia) competition was a build-up tournament for the Olympics, with teams trying out new players and strategies. India coach Roelant Oltmans tried out some junior players along with two making a comeback — Nikkin Thimmaiah and Mandeep Singh.

However, after a long time, there were more encouraging aspects in India’s campaign than the usual upsetting ones. The 4-0 loss in the final does not truly reflect, and cannot overshadow, India’s surprisingly professional performance in the tournament.

“We shouldn’t judge them from the silver. This was a build-up tournament and most of the teams were below us in the rankings. They lost to both Australia and New Zealand. There was, however, definite improvement in the team’s performance,” said Olympian Hardeep Singh Grewal.

A crescendo

World No. 7 India were the second-highest ranked side in the tournament behind world No. 1 Australia. India won four matches and lost three — twice to Australia and once to defending champs and world No. 8 New Zealand — on their way to a second medal in five months.

If the bronze at the Hockey World League Final in Raipur was the result of two knockout wins, the silver in Ipoh came after a steady progression — something the Indian team is not known for. The performance level, even of the top teams, is relative to the opposition — it rises against better teams and drops against the weaker ones. The consistent teams, however, always find a way to get a favourable result. India have never been counted among them.
However, it was surprisingly different in Ipoh. Despite a rusty start, they fought back from a goal down to overcome a defensive Japan 2-1. They raised their game to beat Canada 3-1.

Fearless but smart

Then they took their game to a different level in the biggest match of the tournament, thrashing Pakistan 5-1. India showed no sign of that familiar fear and nervousness involved in a match against Pakistan; it’s due to this nervousness that India have managed to beat the lower-ranked Pakistan only once in two years (Asian Games final).
India were calm, fearless and, at the same time, smart; they stuck to their plan of playing possession hockey and never let the match slip into that usual seesaw of purposeless attacks and counterattacks.

This fearlessness came from a better defensive display, which in turn was the result of a collectively intelligent performance by the team. The Indian players made smart decisions most of the times. They didn’t give away possession through those wild and overly ambitious hits into the circle; they went for safer dodges. That’s the reason there were fewer turnovers.

Not only did they dominate possession, the movement of the ball was much quicker and the off-the-ball running was much-improved. Thimmaiah, playing his first tournament in almost a year, was at his scintillating best throughout the tournament.

All this resulted in a positive goal difference. In seven matches, India scored 18 goals (12 field) and conceded 15 (nine to world champs Australia in two matches and only six in the other five matches).

In the do-or-die match against Malaysia, India took it a notch higher, beating the hosts 6-1 to enter the final. It was one of India’s best performances in a long time — a complete domination. Two players stood out with their all-round performances, and both are young men who have the potential to become the complete players that India desperately need. Oltmans brought Harmanpreet Singh and Harjeet Singh in to check out his options before the Rio Games. Both made a strong case for their inclusion into the Rio-bound squad.

Sloppy at back

Despite an improved defensive showing, the goals that India conceded were the result of a sloppy defence; this has been a perennial problem. A few were caused by individual errors, especially by the two goalkeepers — Harjot Singh and Akash Chikte had a poor tournament.

But the main reason behind conceding such goals remains the absence of a leader in defence, someone like Australia’s Mark Knowles. This sweeper or libero is responsible for maintaining the team’s structure, manning the danger zones — blocking through-balls, covering for the other defenders — and engaging with an opponent one-on-one if needed. This requires the capacity to recognise situations, patterns and being adept at tackling. Knowles is a master of this and is rarely found out of position. This position also demands the player to have the vision to play long balls. With pressure on the midfielders, those defence-piercing passes very often come from the back. India have failed to find someone for this role and it is unlikely they will before the Olympics.

But Oltmans still has a few months to iron out the more immediate flaws. The Dutchman, along with the fans and critics, will get another opportunity to gauge the team before the Olympics. The Champions Trophy in London in June will provide a much tougher challenge. “It is the toughest tournament in the world and will give us a clear picture of where India really stands,” said Grewal.

How they play in London will show whether India’s new-found confidence and composure in Malaysia belied their nervous disposition, especially when playing top teams.