Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: 5 Indian players to watch out for
Sixteen teams are in the fray and the defending champions themselves are candid enough to admit that the tournament at Bhubaneswar will be the most open World Cup ever. Australian coach Colin Batch goes to the extent of saying that getting past the pool stages will not be easy, citing the topsy-turvy results at the Women's World Cup earlier this year,
The overall formula for the Indians (or any side in the tournament) to get their hands on the coveted trophy is quite simple - six straight victories to realize the World Cup dream.
Does Asia's top-ranked side have what it takes to manufacture three consecutive wins to top the pool without a shade of doubt and three victories in the knockouts to seal the deal in front of a vociferous home crowd?
The Indians have had the advantage of familiarising themselves with the playing surface at Bhubaneswar and are armed with an enviable think-tank with an FIH certified coach at the helm, who has been in the business for well over a decade now.
By Harendra's side is Chris Ciriello, who has been part of one of the most accomplished teams in recent times, and is slowly but surely inculcating, in the Indians, the Aussie hunger to never stop winning.
The European culture of total hockey is fast being perfected by the Indians who are one of the fittest sides in the world. If the hosts stick to the game plan, hold their nerve, and perform to their potential, December 16 may well go down as a red letter day in the history of Indian sport.
A team game requires every man on the pitch to strain every sinew, but a few individuals, by virtue of their position and expertise will need to provide the cutting edge if the Indians are to get past the best teams in the world.
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Let's take a look at five of Harendra's key men.
#5 Amit Rohidas
Stopping PCs, in the modern game is developing into a specialized art.
The positioning of the runners, the timing of the charge from the goal line, and the ability to take a body hit from a ball that is transformed into a missile, and propelled towards the goal at speeds of well over 110 km/hr requires both courage and skill in equal measure.
Prevention is better than cure as defenders around the world are well aware, and the ability to shadow a striker with a grounded stick and time a tackle to perfection in one's own circle so as to not concede a PC is now being perfected by the Indian defense.
Odisha's very own Amit Rohidas has mastered the all-important skills of PC stopping and PC prevention - and what's more, he can also fire the PCs into the back of the net just as effectively.
"Before standing on the goal line, I tell myself that I will not allow the ball to cross at any cost. I tell Sreejesh to cover the right side of the goal and leave the left to me. I also let the second runner know that I will cover the high balls and that he should be prepared to block the flick should it come low. "
"I feel proud if I am able to block a shot with my body," says the gritty who took the full impact of Mubashar Ali's drag flick on his upper arm in the opening encounter of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan.
In a pool match of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh in March, the lad from Sundargarh beat Argentine goalkeeper Vivaldi to score a PC brace, and in the absence of Rupinder Pal Singh, Amit may also have to shoulder the responsibility of taking a few drag-flicks to surprise the opposition at Bhubaneswar.