Spot in London beckons stick-wielders

G Unnikrishnan

Just after bagging the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, a piercing question leapt out at Indian hockey team captain Rajpal Singh, “Will we win gold in Asian Games?”

The affable sardar’s answer was a wry smile. For Rajpal might have been aware that the query would follow him for the next few weeks. But the question, perhaps, should have been, “Can we win the Asian Games gold?”

Along with a tinge of optimism, the silver medal might have brought a sense of reality as well with it. Lessons from the CWG were quite clear: forwards need to be more accurate, midfielders need to show more creativity and defenders need to learn how to tackle an advancing opposition. All this they need to do before November 12, the day when the Asian Games begins in Guangzhou, China.

The quadrennial show is not just the next big assignment for the Indian men’s hockey team, but it’s also a portal that could transport them to the London Olympics 2012. It’s a matter of pride for the Indian men’s outfit as they had suffered the ignominy of not qualifying for the Olympics for the first time since 1928 when the world’s biggest sporting event was held in Beijing in 2008.

But to ensure their Olympic berth, India will have to gun for the gold in Guangzhou with the international hockey federation yet to release the qualification procedure for the London Games. If it remains the same as it was in Doha, the top two will go through but that won’t be an easy task. They perforce have to find a remedy for the aforementioned technical flaws that were brutally exposed by Australia twice in the CWG.

It’s important for the Indians to learn the art of releasing the ball quickly as it can facilitate effective counter-attacks. India was a total failure in this area in the CWG. As in the past, their penchant to show off their individual brilliance was prompting them to hold on to the ball for a longer period.

However, the desire for personal glory has to be replaced by a collective will to win against super quick teams like South Korea and China. Rajpal too emphasised on the need for a team effort.

“Hockey is a team game and it has to be played by 11 men together. There are some obvious flaws, especially in defence, in our game, but there is no point in blaming just one department. It’s a collective responsibility. I hope we can go one step further in the Asian Games. The team is in good shape, players have got good time to recuperate after the CWG, so we are hoping for the best result,” Rajpal said.

For the record, the Indian men’s team has won the gold two times in Asiad with the last one coming at Bangkok in 1998. The Indian women, to be led by Surinder Kaur in Guangzhou, have won the gold only once, at Delhi in 1982.

Apart from Korea and China, Pakistan should offer tough challenge to India. In recent times, the men in blue had the measure of their traditional rivals, beating them comfortably in the World Cup and in the CWG. But taking them lightly will be naïve as Pakistan, a seven-time gold winner in the Asian Games, have been preparing well for this assignment.

The Asian Games will also be the last assignment for India’s chief coach Jose Brasa and the Spaniard will certainly be hoping to end his tenure on a high after his skirmishes with the authorities in the last few months.

The women’s squad too will have to face tough competition from Korea and China. Their recent form has not been very encouraging and the controversy surrounding former coach MK Kaushik too had jolted the team. Coach Sandeep Somesh, undoubtedly, has an uneviable task in Guangzhou.