DNA: Men’s Hockey World Cup: India begin campaign for World
Having back-to-back key tournaments in a crucial year for Indian hockey can be both a boon and a bane.
Boon, for a good show at the 2018 Hockey Men’s World Cup can wipe away the disappointment of the Indian team’s failures at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) as well as the Asian Games earlier this year. Bane, for as a result of those twin failures, the pressure of performing well in the World Cup gets manifold.
And as India kickstarts their World Cup campaign against South Africa in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, how the boys perform in the great Indian hockey carnival over the next two-and-a-half weeks will determine which of the two directions the tide flows in.
The question is: what would classify as a good show?
Ranked No. 5 in the world, India have rarely played like a top-five team throughout the year, disappointing fourth and third place finishes at the CWG and Asian Games, respectively, earlier this year providing ample proof.
Sure, there have been flashes of hope, like the run to the Champions Trophy final in June-July, but all they have remained are flashes.
After the 2016 Rio Olympics debacle, much of the focus turned towards building a team for this World Cup.
However, as is usually the norm in Indian hockey, the closer the event gets, the more the things go haywire.
Two Dutchmen – Roelant Oltmans and Sjoerd Marijne – have been shown the door over the last two years, with Harendra Singh taking over the coaching reins only in May this year.
And, if you thought instability was a buzzword reserved only for coaches, India hockey gave you a chance to think again.
Unhappy with the treatment meted out to him under Marijne’s era, India’s most experienced and decorated modern-day player, Sardar Singh, decided to hang up his boots following the Jakarta Asiad flop show just months before this World Cup.
And then in a selection that left many scratching their heads, the think-tank chose to leave out dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh and forward Ramandeep Singh, two players who have been an integral part of the Indian team over the last few years.
Banking On Youth
Those retirement and selection calls, along with the absence of the injured SV Sunil, has meant that the experience drawer is pretty bare for a big event like the World Cup, leaving captain Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh with the bulk of the responsibility of carrying this team along.
It’s clear Harendra is taking a gamble by betting on youngsters to deliver, with as many as six players of India’s victorious Junior World Cup-winning campaign in 2016 at home – of which Harendra was the coach, incidentally – being part of the 18-member squad for the senior world event as well.
With 15th-ranked South Africa, 11th-ranked Canada and world No. 3 Belgium in their group, India ought to make it to the knockouts, with the top team from each group qualifying directly for the quarterfinals and the second and third teams from all groups fighting for the remaining last-eight place in the cross-over stage.
It makes the India-Belgium encounter on Sunday crucial, for a victory for the hosts would go a long way in ensuring a direct ticket to the quarterfinals without the extra workload of the cross-over match, besides a much-needed shot of confidence.
From thereon, though, the level will go a couple of notches higher, and that’s where this young-looking Indian team’s mettle will be really tested in front of their rousing home fans.
Up until now in the recent past, Indian teams have more often than not melted when put under such intense heat in big tournaments, and that is why perhaps it is best for even the ardent hockey lovers in the country to not expect big things this time around too.
However, if these boys do manage to fight fire with fire, then the sporting world can sure accommodate another underdog success story. More so if it comes with the hope of opening another glorious chapter in Indian hockey’s glittering book.