Ipoh, 11 March 2013: The 22nd edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah six-nation hockey tournament that drew sizeable crowds on the first two days with attractive blue turf set the trend, with formidable Australia taking a firm direction with two wins against both the Asian giants India and Pakistan in contrasting style.
Hosts Malaysia, who are the only teams along with Korea to field a full-fledged senior team, came up with a stunning display as they notched up two wins in the first two days and are leading the table along with Aussies. Malaysia has never won the SAS tournament and hopes are soaring that this team under new South African coach Revington can do it. However, it is too early to say anything as every team looks like a giant killer on its day. The decision to repose faith in the seniors and the recalling of them looks to have yielded results as 32-year old Chuat Boon Huat, scored two late goals for their victory against tough Koreans on the opening day.
All the other four teams, India, Pakistan, Australia and defending champions New Zealand, have blooded many youngsters with an eye on the Junior World Cup this year-end but it was Australia who was able to blend the youth into the experience and showed that they can deliver results. The first day matches were close encounters with Aussies pipping Indians, which has the most number of youngsters and clearly the baby of the tournament in terms of average age. With 10 of the Indians in this team likely to play the Junior World Cup at home this year, Indian coach Michael Nobbs was very happy with the way the team put up a fight against the Australians.
Despite Korea edging out India 2-1 on the second day, Nobbs felt the team played well in the first half and made some mistakes in the second which cost them the match. “We had to rest some senior players including Sarada Singh who are injured. It is very important for India for these seniors to be given enough rest. The idea to bring in so many juniors is to give them a decent stage to develop them as strong players and our boys have really taken this opportunity and I am impressed with the way they are playing. Some minor glitches need to be rectified but I am sure they are on the right course. Playing tough teams is the right way to learn,’’ he felt.
For the record, Kang Moon Kweon scored a short corner in the 28th minute and also brought out the match winner in the 60th minute after Malak Singh struck the equalizer for India through a field goal in the 38th minute.
A heartening feature of the present Indian team in terms of adjusting and following modern tactics is greatly visible. The normal playing style of Punjab like sticking to the ball for too long, solo dribbling instead of releasing to unmarked players ahead in the field, have many a time been a curse for Indian hockey. But the young Punjabi players’ off the ball running, releasing the ball in quick time, creating spaces all augurs well for the country and is a credit to Nobbs. One such tactical move to reduce the speed and hold the ball unnerved the Koreans and Indians enjoyed more possession and territorial advantage in the first half.
The player who played more SAS tournaments from India is their star goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. He has come out with brilliant saves on both the days and his form is one of the plus points for India. “He is a mature goalkeeper and he is always trying to improve. He will be one of our key players,’’ felt the Indian coach.
However, India has to improve their penalty corner conversion. “Rupinder Pal Singh is able to come up with good flicks but still has to improve a lot in accuracy and power. With more experience and hardwork, he will be able to develop into a good specialist,’’ felt Nobbs.
On the second day, Australia changed the script of close matches and gave a good thrashing to Pakistan. Though it was twin strike in the 8th minute, that put Aussies up 2-0 and led the rout, coach Ric Charlesworkth did not give much importance to the scoreliine. “Yesterday, we had lost two quick penalty corners to India and it almost turned the match. These things happen, but we still have to learn from our mistakes. But the good thing is the six juniors are jelling well and are playing like seniors. That is the big advantage. But it is too early to say anything and we cannot afford to be complacent as every team is capable of creating an upset,’’ the veteran expert felt.
Defending champions New Zealand, who did well to fight back after 0-3 in their opening match against Pakistan lost 3-4 and once again ended on the losing note on the second day with Malaysia coming up with a freak late goal by Tengku Ahmad Tajudin, whose deflection caressed the Kiwi defender’s stick before settling in the goal. “But a couple of wins and everything will change,’’ said captain Dean Couzins.
With the rest day today, most of the teams opted to rest without any practice sessions and next five days leading to Sunday will be interesting both for the fans and the teams. The tournament has attracted good sponsorship and the renovated stadium is expected to draw more crowds. The first two days have been a jamboree with fans making huge noise and drumming which at teams had distracted the teams as expressed by a couple of coaches. The umpires job of blowing the whistle has become much harder but that’s the way the fans are supposed to be and it is good advert for hockey.