The Hindu: Usual suspects line up for year-ender

Uthra Ganesan

India will open their campaign in the elite HWL Final against world champions and title holders Australia in Pool B on Friday

The Hockey World League (HWL) began as an experiment to take the sport beyond its traditional strongholds in Asia and Europe. Five years later, as the last of the HWL Finals gets underway at the Kalinga Stadium here on Friday, the usual suspects line up for the last big tournament of the year with little more than ranking points and boasting rights at stake.

The previous edition saw India win bronze, its first world-level medal in 33 years. This time, the team is looking to go one better, starting with defending champion Australia in the opening game, to end a tumultuous year on a high at a tournament that marked its re-entry into the world elite.

The road would be tough. The top-eight teams in the world barring New Zealand are in action but the world order has changed. Olympic champion Argentina has maintained its stronghold on the top spot, Belgium has steadily climbed up the table and now boasts of being the European champion, and Germany is in the unfamiliar territory of not being one of the favourites.

The format means all eight teams advance to the quarterfinals and three wins thereafter would mean the title. India has had a new coach, younger legs coming in on the back of a triumphant Junior World Cup and lost some of the key members who made it possible two years ago.

Test for the coach

More than the end of a cycle, the event marks the beginning of a new one, one that includes the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the World Cup next year. Coach Sjoerd Marijne was realistic enough to not go overboard with the Asia Cup win and admitted this was the real test to see where India stood. More importantly, it would indicate the direction the team needs to take and help try out the combinations going ahead.

“We really want to raise the bar every time and that is what we want to do tomorrow. We now have an opportunity to do better than the Asia Cup, we know we can do better. We know we have to do better to perform here well,” Marijne said.

The good news is the return of Rupinderpal Singh and Birendra Lakra to shore up the defence but the latter remains untested in competition. On the flip side, the big loss would be that of goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and while they did fairly well in the continental meet, Akash Chikte and Suraj Karkera would be looking to prove themselves worthy successors here. The defence would be the key, admitted captain and midfield marshal Manpreet Singh, achieving a milestone of his own with his 200th international cap.

Not too long ago, it would have been easy to pick the winner in a game against Australia. Now, there are no guarantees. The reigning world champion is in a transition phase, coach Colin Batch admits they are no longer automatic favourites and captain Mark Knowles, past 33, remains its central figure. The loss of Craig brothers Tom and Ben – both to injuries – days before the tournament has given a chance to junior star Lachlan Sharp. The Kookaburras still remain dangerous, though, and the recent Oceania Cup win would only push them harder to retain the title.

The other game on the opening day would see Germany take on England with the former keen to avenge its defeat at the European Championships, its first out of medal bracket in a decade.