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The FIH Hockey World Cup 2018 being held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, has set the excitement level soaring by several notches. With nail-biting thrillers, surprising upsets and classic hockey displayed even in the one-sided affairs, the current edition, revamped with a blue turf and modern rules, is anything but a drab affair.
While every match is watched with bated breath around the world, the most anticipated ones are those involving the hosts, Team India. The Men in Blue had a crucial match with Canada, and had to beat them at any cost to go directly to the quarter-finals. Since Belgium whacked the South Africans 5-1, India had to win this match by nothing less than a margin of 2-1.
Coached by Harendra Singh, the boys began on the right note, earning a goal within the 1st quarter, when Harmanpreet Singh did not let go of the penalty corner, giving India a crucial lead. However, they were surprisingly held up by Canada for the next one quarter, with Floris Van Son even scoring the equalizer in the third quarter. For a while, it looked as if India would be forced to be content with the crossover stage. However, it wasn't to be so.
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The final quarter, however, brought forth a new India altogether. Ruthless and unwilling to take any more attacks, the Men in Blue gave it their all, and not only won back their lead, but also pummeled the Canadians in a way that only the classic Indian hockey is known for. From an improved show in penalty corner, to the field goals giving India the right edge, the Indians nailed the match on every point. By the time the match ended, India won by a mammoth margin of 5-1
Following are some of the most interesting talking points about the match between India and Canada -
#5) Harmanpreet opens the account for India
India went on attacking mode from the first whistle. Making apt penetrations, and with an improved stickwork as compared to the previous match, India dominated the first quarter. The home crowd, packed to the brim, got a reason to cheer as Harmanpreet scored within the first quarter itself, giving India a crucial lead of 1-0.
In the 12th minute, India, who had made almost 5 to 6 circle entries by then, earned their first penalty corner. Harmanpreet Singh, considered India's trump card, didn't waste a single opportunity into converting that penalty corner into a brilliant goal, earning India a lead of 1-0.
With an upbeat spirit, India looked all set to dominate the first half, having earned a goal within the first quarter and denying Canada any important breakthrough throughout the 15 minutes. The Canadians, however, had other plans for Team India.
#4) Canadian defence holds India for one full quarter
The Canadian team was dumbstruck by a goal within the first quarter. They, however, didn't lose hope, and keeping their cool, played in a defensive mode throughout the second quarter, denying India any important breakthrough. They were inspired by teams like France and China, and hoped to make an upset against India.
Some of the team members were also a part of the dream team that had shocked everybody on their route to a silver medal at the hockey event of Youth Olympics 2014, and as such, they were more than raring to go. Led by goalkeeper Antoni Kindler, the Canadian defence worked surprisingly well, denying India even a single goal throughout the second quarter. By the time the half time whistle blared, the score was just 1-0.
It was to the credit of the Canadian defence, that India couldn't score another goal until the final quarter.
#3) Floris Van Son shocks the home crowd with an equalizer
![Floris Van Son [on extreme left] - The man who almost equalized the game](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/89b0e-15442908620453-800.jpg)
If the Indian crowd at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the venue for the Hockey World Cup, were frustrated by India's inability to score within the first half, they had more reasons to be worried: Canada were now building up the momentum.
In the third quarter, it was Canada's chance to attack India, and they did with full force. In the 39th minute, Floris Van Son broke through the Indian defense as he earned the equalizer, stunning the home crowd and giving Canada a reason to cheer for once. For once, it looked as if Canada were on the verge of delivering a major shock to Team India.
However, the desperation to win proved too costly for Canada. Earning a green card for over aggression in the 22nd minute, Canada lost a player when James Wallace was shown the yellow card in the 30th minute. Troubles increased when James Kirkpatrick, one of Canada's star players, was shown a yellow card for his rude behavior. This was where the equation changed, and for the better.
#2) Chinglensana and Lalit come to the rescue
The heroes of the first match came to India's rescue in the second match as well. In the final quarter, India went all out in its attack on Canada, and earned a goal within a minute, when midfielder Chinglensana Singh, who had rescued India from a possible loss against Belgium, struck a crisp field goal in the 46th minute.
From there, there was literally no looking back, as Team India went on full offensive mode. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, one of the star strikers in India's sweet journey at 2018 Champions Trophy, scored another field goal within a minute against the Canadians, extending India's lead to 3-1.
It was here that the penalty corner specialists once again came to the forefront. In the 51st minute, Amit Rohidas capitalized on a brilliant penalty corner to extend India's lead to 4-1, sealing the ticket for quarter-finals. The last nail in the coffin was struck by Lalit Upadhyay, as he struck another goal in the 57th minute.
#1) An improved show from the penalty corner specialists
With the impressive win against Canada, India have now created history by making it to the knockout round of a Hockey World Cup after 43 long years. India will now face the winner of the fourth and the last crossover, between Canada and the 2nd placed team in group D, which comprises Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan & Malaysia.
Even though the Indian team has improved by leaps and bounds since their disastrous outing at the London Olympics 2012, the defense, as well as the penalty corners, proved to be their Achilles heel. Before this World Cup, India had an extremely poor record in terms of converting penalty corners into goals, with an average of 1 conversion in 10 chances.
However, this time, India have improved on this part. In the present match, India earned three penalty corners, of which they converted two -- a significant improvement. The same was observed in the previous two matches, and as of now, by statistics, India stand a respectable second to Australia in terms of converting penalty corners successfully in this tournament.
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