New Indian Express: India proved they belong to the big stage of hockey

RIO DE JANEIRO: They might have failed to qualify for the Olympic Games semifinals here, but the Indian men’s hockey team has shown it belongs to the big stage and could emerge as a serious medal contender four years hence.

In 2012, at the London Olympics, the eight-time gold medallists endured a disastrous campaign to finish 12th and last after failing to even qualify four years earlier in Beijing.

This time around the Men in Blue showcased the progress they have made in the last four years under the programme put in place by Dutch master strategist Roelant Oltmans, the team’s head coach.

It’s, thus, vital that for achieving a podium finish at the 2020 Tokyo Games the process put in place by Oltmans is continued unhindered.

Going into the Games, India’s realistic target was to progress to the quarter-finals and as Oltmans said thereafter everything depended on performance on the given day.

The Indians managed to achieve their initial goal of making the knock out phase after a huge gap of 36 years.

And the way they played in the pool stage, especially against top sides like reigning champions Germany and former gold medal winners Netherlands, raised the hopes of millions following them back home.

But eventually they had to face the reality that there is still some time and miles to travel before they become serious medal contenders.

In the Games here the team started on a nervous note against minnows Ireland, but managed to eke out a 3-2 win.

But India soon pulled up their socks and dished out inspirational performances against Germany and Netherlands before silly errors in the final stages cost them the points.

Against Germany India conceded a goal three seconds from the final hooter to lose 1-2. The script remained unaltered against the Netherlands as they gave away unnecessary penalty corners in the final 10 minutes to again lose by a 1-2 margin.

However, the Indians got their act together just in time to beat Argentina 2-1, but what cost them dearly was the uninspiring 2-2 draw against lowly Canada in their last league game.

A win against Canada would not only have boosted their morale but also propelled them to the third spot in Pool B and helped them avoid Pool A toppers Belgium in the quarterfinals.

The effect of that draw was literally visible in yesterday’s quarterfinal loss against Belgium when they squandered a goal advantage to lose 1-3 and crashed out.

With three drag-flickers — Rupinder Pal Singh, VR Raghunath and Harmanpreet Singh — in the squad, penalty corners were considered as India’s most potent force going into the tournament.

However, leaving aside the initial burst of Rupinder and Raghunath, the Indians cut a sorry figure in their execution.

The other front which should be a cause for concern for Oltmans was the performance of the team’s forward line, which managed just four field goals in six matches.

India were badly let down by the forwards as they failed to earn a single penalty corner in the quarterfinal against Belgium.

The midfield led by Sardar Singh, which also includes Manpreet Singh and SK Uthappa, played well and so did the backline although the defence, when put under immense pressure, crumbled to give away soft goals.

In the back line young Surender Kumar stole the limelight alongside Kothajit Singh, but seniors like Raghunath were found wanting when put under pressure.

Sreejesh, considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the world currently, was terrific but he lacked support from others.

The Indians were also guilty of committing unnecessary fouls, resulting in a number of cards, among the highest in the tournament.

All said and done there were a lot of positives to take away from the failed outing. If India expects to better the performance in Tokyo, it needs to carry on the same set of programmes put in place by Oltmans for the next four years.

The performance here proved that all is not lost for the past masters of the game and from here on they can only improve provided the national federation, Hockey India, doesn’t take any drastic decision which might destroy all the hard work put in the place over the last few years.