Shooting for the stars

Coach Jose Brasa, having taken over nine months ago, had promised a new, free-flowing style of hockey. With one day to go for the World Cup, Uthra G. Chaturvedi looks at how the team have lined up in their two practice games

ATTACKERS

India have a squad with a mix of experience and youth in the attack.

Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur are the seniormost players but the team managment usually makes the first move with only one of them, supported by the youngsters. While Prabhjot keeps up the pressure from the left, right-in Shivendra Singh is the key man to finish off the moves.

Shivendra also plays centre forward but needs to make sure the rest of the team is able to keep pace — he is often left stranded inside the circle, having outrun the others. Thakur is used more as a feeder, but the dasher can often spring a surprise by shooting in from unexpected angles.

While Tushar Khandker and Rajpal Singh are included as strikers and often come off the bench early on, they generally take shots at the goal only when there is no one ahead of them. Gurwinder Chandi is skillful and scored in one of the practice games, but needs more confidence.

PROVIDERS

The linkman is considered one of the most important positions in hockey and, with the new system of play attempted by Jose Brasa, there are no fixed spots any more. Arjun Halappa is the key man in this area, making full use of his experience to repeatedly set up those inside the circle.

Halappa is assisted ably in this by the talented Sardar Singh in the centre, who also doubles up as a centre-forward to push ahead past the opposition. Gurbaj Singh on the right forms a formidable combination with Halappa and is one of the most talented players among the new lot.

The other experienced player on the half line is Vikram Pillay on the left, who brings stability and solidity to the team. A schemer, Pillay is instrumental in holding off the opposition and his keen reading of the game is important for India.

Skipper Rajpal Singh and Khandker also fall back a lot to shore up the midfield while Bharat Chikara, included as a midfielder, is more of an attacker, though his speed and stamina ensures he is found on all corners of the turf through the 70 minutes. Of the current lot, Halappa and Sardar Singh generally start off the game while the others come on later through substitution.

DEFENSIVE DUTIES

India’s defence is marshalled by the three men who are also the penalty corner experts for the team — Sandeep Singh, Diwakar Ram and Dhananjay Mahadik.

Of the three, Sandeep is the most experienced and is generally the only one who stays back during a raid on the opposition, but the backline is a worry for India with large gaps and open spaces.

The midfield has to fall back to marshall the defence often and the onus falls on the goalkeepers — either Adrian D’Souza or PR Sreejesh — to keep the opposition at bay. Pillay, Khandker, Halappa and Danish add some muscle but with two inexperiences fullbacks, India need to stay on their guard.

No ‘arch-rivals’, says Brasa

• India coach Jose Brasa has asked his boys to bottle up their emotions when they take on Pakistan on Sunday. “I am not a fan of words like ‘arch-rivals’ (to describe Pakistan). I have told the boys to take the match against Pakistan as just as a normal game and nothing else. I have told them to cut off the emotional aspect and to focus on the game,” Brasa said.

‘We have to win vs India’

• Under pressure to win the tournament opener against India, Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf admitted that fans back home would even excuse a flop show in the World Cup if his team beats the traditional rivals on Sunday. “The first match against India is very crucial. In Pakistan, everybody wants us to win against India, it doesn’t matter whether we win the World Cup or not,” he conceded. “The match is crucial for both the sides, so pressure will on both sides. We have improved a lot from the last two to three tournaments. But the first three pool matches will determine our fate in the World Cup,” Zeeshan said.

‘No more last-min goals’

• Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh has said that the team has improved a lot in sorting out the old malaise of conceding last-minute goals and it would help the home side in reaching the last four of the World Cup. “It (conceding last-gasp goals) has to do with the mental aspect. We have worked on this and I think we are improving,” he said. Asked if the pressure of expectation would weigh down his side, Rajpal said, “It (pressure) is good. It will give us motivation to do well in front of home crowd. If we do well and at least reach the semifinals it will give a big boost to Indian hockey.”

Holders not too optimistic

• Germany may be double defending champions but captain Maximillan Muller has said that, with a young and inexperienced side, a semi-final finish would be a great result. Muller said the German team is in the rebuilding phase and has only three players — Matthias Witthaus, Moritz Furste and Jan-Marco Montag — in their 18-member squad from the last edition. “We don’t have any pressure as we are rebuilding the team. We are not thinking of becoming World Champion with a new team. It will take at least one to two years to build the team,” he said.