The other day coach Harendra Singh was shouting from the bench not to use the midfield as it was watered more than adequate. But the team seemed not to bother. Due to over-watering, midfield passes were landing on the rival side, still it took lot of time for the Indian team to understand things
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Unlike elsewhere, there is one fixed platform for all teams here to put their video cameras here. So no team can decide to have a separate recording area. The platform is small and has only so much space. Invariably, some or the other team misses out and so even before action starts on field, there is a scramble for team videographers to block a space.
Indian goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza is one techno-friendly person. The day he plays, the result of India match is up on his Twitter account http://twitter.com/#!/AdrianDsouzaHoc soon after the players reach back to team hotel. When he doesn’t, he updates his account immediately after the match ends.
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The Indian team may have been playing Great Britain but sitting outside in the stands, Jugraj Singh couldn’t stay still. Every time India got a penalty corner, or made a move, or committed an error – basically, all the time — he would jump, scream instructions, rush to the barricade, then come back and take notes as penalty corner and defence coach. Having his career cut short because of a near-fatal injury, the 28-year-old’s playing dreams may have been over but the player in him is not.
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Man of the Match Rupinder Pal Singh may have only recently graduated from junior ranks but after his three-goal hat-trick against Great Britain on Friday, he has earned his spurs with the seniors. The moment he entered the Indian changing room after the match with the medallion and a bouquet, ‘Bob’ was showered with chants of ‘Rupinder Pal ki jai’ and the bouquet became his congratulatory shower.
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The school kids brought in to cheer various teams have been quite vocal about their support, but the Indian team gets special treatment. So far, while the rest of the teams have to make do with either feeble ‘go team’, the Indian supporters have not only found new ways of cheering but they are also the most vocal – after hosts Malaysia, obviously – and sing songs, make new chants and even create Mexican waves in support.
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Before the India-great Britain match, a series of Hindi popular Hindi numbers were played on public address system, as if momentarily one can feel the stadium in India!