Oz gunning for a hat-trick -Hockey final at 11 a.m.
Prabhjot Singh

Will India upset the applecart of the three-time champions in the final of the hockey competition for men in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at historic Major Dhyan Chand national Stadium here tomorrow or allow the Australians to complete a hat-trick of title triumphs in a calendar year?

Australians, who have conceded only five goals in the competition so far, are wary of the sultry and hostile weather conditions as the game is scheduled to be played at 11 a.m.

“When we finish our engagements here, we would have done like seven hours of marathon run,” rued Australian coach, Richard Charlesworth, blaming both the Commonwealth Games Federation and the International Hockey Federation for scheduling the games during hot noons.

Managers of various teams have been critical of the games scheduled in the late forenoon and early afternoons saying the weather has been taking a heavy toll on players.

Richard Charlesworth would be looking for the fourth consecutive Commonwealth games gold in the sport. Earlier this year, Australia had won the World Cup at the same venue and later reiterated its supremacy by winning the 2010 edition of the Champions Trophy in Melbourne.

Known for his perfection, Richard Charlesworth knows well that if the home team supported by a vociferous crowd can repeat extraordinary performance it had exhibited in the game against Pakistan the other day. Besides, the splendid recovery India made in the semi-final game against England was also remarkable.

Though Australia had beaten India convincingly 5-2 in the league matches, the gold medal encounter is expected to be different than the earlier game.

“India played very well for 15 to 20 minutes in the later stages of the first half but we recovered and outplayed them in the rest of the game,” commented Richard Charlesworth. “Every team has some weaknesses and it depends how you cover them up in a tough game like the gold medal match tomorrow.”

Australians have some of the best players, including skipper Jamie Dwyer, Glenn Turner, Rob Hammond, Mark Knowles and Luke Doerner, in the contemporary game while India can boast of only dependable player Sardar Singh. Players like Gurbaj Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Dharmvir Singh and goalkeeper Bharat Chhetri have shaped well in this tournament. Drag flicker Sandeep Singh and forward-cum-skipper Rajpal Singh have also shown patches of sparkle in the tournament so far.

How the Indian team perform tomorrow before a strong home crowd will depend upon its strategy. It has some worries as halfback Gurbaj Singh is still nursing an injured ankle.

It is for the first time in three appearances in the Commonwealth Games that India has made it to the gold medal round. The previous best was fourth position at Kuala Lumpur where it had lost to the hosts Malaysia in the semi-finals.