Silver linings in Indian hockey

For the fans of Indian Hockey, the result of the 9th Asian Hockey Championship has given reasons to cheer. Before the start of the tournament, no one was expecting this squad to appear in the final. Surprising everybody, Indians not only reached there but also played belligerently. The difference between the squads was clear. The total number of matches played by the South Koreans before the final were 2200 as compared to 900 by the Indian players. Indians came from behind thrice and lost the 7 goal thriller in the last moments. They won a lot of hearts. There are a lot of silver linings and these goes as follows.

First, we have probably the best striking line up for a decade. Mandeep has cemented his position as a natural predator. If we include injured Akashdeep, Danish, S V Sunil and Gurindern Chandy to it (unfortunately all could not participate in the tournament due to their injuries), then we have the fiercest forward line in Asia. As we have seen in the semifinal and final, accurate passes of Ramandeep and positional play of Mandeep has caused tremors in the opposition camp. Now we are in a position of having an equally talented bench and a place in forward line is not up for grab.

Second, we have two deadly drag flick specialists. In world hockey today, the final outcome of the match is increasingly depending on Penalty Corner conversion rate. Raghunath and Rupinder have filled the vacancy with grace. Bearing error prone Sandeep Singh is no longer a burden. Amit Rohidas is also learning the art and is picking up pace to be India’s plan C. Both Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh scored goals with ease throughout the tournament and the future in this department certainly looks very promising.

Third, the defence has matured a lot. We are not making foolish errors inside the D and the opposition has to sweat hard to find the net. Before the final, India conceded no field goal. Only 1 goal was scored against us, and that too was on Penalty Corners against Bangladesh.

Fourth, after a long long time, we now have a world class goalkeeper, Sreejesh. He easily can be clubbed with Jacobi and Jepp Stockman as world’s best. After experimenting with P T Rao and Bharat Chetri, now we have found our man Friday. Be it field attempts or Penalty corners, he stood like a Rock of Gibraltar. He got good support from the defence line as well. He is brave, vigil and good in reading the mind of the striker.

Fifth, the team is more cool and calm. It is not committing foolish errors of misplaced passes and not giving easy PC to the opposition. Malak, Rupinder and Amit invited some undue green and yellow cards in the match against Malaysia in a short span of time. Their age might have pumped them for it but one can be sure that with time, the players will mature by themselves.

Sixth, the coaching of Rolant Oltmans has started to give dividends. A single power house in coaching is paying handsomely for the team. Oltmans has won every gold of world hockey. The hugely talented and experienced Dutchman is doing wonders here. His Zen like teachings can be seen among the players on the field. They are displaying more patience than ever before. Wrong passes were very few throughout the tournament and the team played as a cohesive unit.

Seventh, Sardara is growing day by day. Despite having a high temperature before the tournament, the captain steered the ship up to the final and actively participated in each match. He not only provided good quality passes but also cut many a moves of the opposition. Manpreet, now captain of the junior team, is shaping himself well as his companion.

Eighth, a lot of tournaments are coming in the next year. World Hockey League, Asian games, World cup, Commonwealth games are a few. This team of young and experienced players can learn a lot from these.

A lot depends on Hockey India and how much they can support this talented side. It’s a good sign that juniors of both girls and boys are making their presence felt at the world stage. There is Silver and Bronze. It’s high time to turn it into Gold.