No end to India’s woes

Nobbs says team lacks mental toughness

Reet Oberoi

Three losses on the trot has left the Indian team in tatters.

Michael Nobbs’ men were never considered among the medal prospects at the London 2012 Games, but the manner of defeats have brought forth a lot of questions. India have now conceded 11 goals in three matches, scoring just five.

Is this the end of the road, or are India learning from the bitter experiences at the 2012 London Games?

It was hard to fathom what was wrong with the team, who were handed a 2-5 hammering by defending champions Germany today. Just about nothing seemed to be going right… There was no co-ordination among the strikers, the midfield doesn’t look beyond the ever solid Sardar Singh, while the defence was almost negligent.

An elderly Indian gentleman in the crowd commented, “Wasn’t it better when we had not qualified? At least we will not have to go through this heartbreak everyday,” summing up India’s play on the day.

Coach Michael Nobbs said it was time to ask some tough questions. India, placed at the bottom of the table in Group B, are now left to fight for the bottom six places.

“The Germans were too good today. They were a lesson on how to play hockey, and we are just not there. Normally Germany do not play such attacking hockey, and it was different style of play that we witnessed,” Nobbs said after the game.

“As for us, we were unable to execute any of our plans. I think rather than complaining, we should try and find answers within ourselves.

“We have the right skills, but do not have enough strength and mental toughness.”
India now face Korea and Belgium in their last two league matches on August 5 and August 7 respectively, but going by their display so far, the road ahead looks extremely difficult.
Skipper Bharat Chetri said making the same mistakes again and again was costing the team. “We are not learning from our mistakes and there is no way a team can win like this,” he said.

German coach Marcus Weiss was a picture of composure after the match.
Asked if he was expecting such a margin of win (5-2), the coach replied in the negative.

“No, not at all. India are always a dangerous side and we were expecting a hard game. But that did not happen.

“I am surprised with the scoreline, but I would take it happily. We could not score from the penalty corners, but field goals came in plenty and they were enough for us to win.”