Hockey World League semis: India looking to cut out mistakes against Great Britain
India face Great Britain for the 3rd place in the Hockey World League (HWL) semis at Brasschaat in Antwerp, Belgium. The Indians lost their semi-final match by a massive 4-0 margin against the hosts and they are eager to rectify their mistakes. The coach Paul van Ass and captain Sardar Singh both spoke about the mistakes the team committed in the semis.
The captain of the team Sardar Singh said that the team’s aim against Great Britain would be not to repeat the same mistakes they committed against Belgium.
“We committed mistakes yesterday and which cost us the match. For tomorrow, we will aim not to repeat them against Great Britain,” HockeyIndia.org reported him as saying.
India have scored just 4 goals from penalty corners in 18 attempts and the 29-year old admitted that the team has to improve on their short corners.
Sardar Singh was quoted as saying in the same interview, “Our penalty corner conversions have to come right and we have to ensure that we capitalise on them.”
“The team needs to come back strong”
India entered the Belgian circle on plenty of occasions, but failed to find the back of the net – the first time in the tournament. The halfback from Haryana urged the team to make the most of the chances they create.
“Also while we are confident of breaking their defence, we also need to cash in on the opportunities that get created once we enter the opponent’s semi circle,” Sardar expressed in the press conference.
The coach, on his part, revealed that they have analysed the disaster against Belgium.
“The team is aware of the loopholes in the match against Belgium. They know they have to rectify it and come back strong,” said the Dutchman according to HockeyIndia.org.
He said that the team would be looking to playing a simple game and ensure that they defend well at the same time.
“The plan for tomorrow is to keep it simple and capitalise on the opportunities. Also we cannot afford to give away easy goals and we have to ensure we close the gaps,” he concluded the press conference.
India and Great Britain go head to head at 19:00 IST with a 3rd place finish awaiting the winner. If Great Britain win the match, they will qualify for the Olympics. India have already qualified for the 2016 games in Rio courtesy of winning the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea.