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#5 Cool heads in midfield; lightning speed, mesmerizing skills up front
One-touch hockey is Sjoerd Marijne's mantra. Yet, this is not how the Indians have traditionally played the game.
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Old-timers will no doubt recall that great Indian strikers, from the late Mohammad Shahid to Dhanraj Pillai and Gagan Ajit Singh, loved playing to the galleries with long runs, dribbling past multiple defenders which was a scintillating sight to watch. Old-timers will also recall (not so fondly) that all these great players failed to actually put the ball into the net often enough for India to win the big matches.
One-touch hockey is all about speed, and releasing (or glancing) the ball quickly to outsmart the opposition and cover the length of the field in minimum time. The coach's methods are working and hats off to him for the same.
Consider the move below in India's drawn match against Australia in the HWL.
Harmanpreet Singh who was in the Indian D passed the ball to Manpreet, who, in turn, passed to Chinglensana, back to Manpreet, then Varun Kumar and Mandeep Singh near the Australian D. All the players played one-touch hockey and the ball had covered the entire length of the field with such amazing speed that the vociferous home crowd was in raptures and the Aussie midfield and defence all at sea.
Speed is the key in the modern game and one player in the Indian team who personifies speed is SV Sunil who won the title of Asia's best player for 2016 and also best player of the Asia Cup in Dhaka last year. A veteran, whose electrifying twists, dodges, and darting sprints make him one of the best strikers in the world of hockey. One of the fastest men on the pitch in the hockey world today, Sunil's skills make him a vital cog in the wheel for Team India.
A prolific goal-scorer, Akashdeep Singh scored seven goals in the semi-final round of the Hockey World League in London last year. Akashdeep, along with Gurjant and SV Sunil showcased a scintillating performance in the final round of the Hockey World League at the Kalinga Stadium especially in the match against Belgium.
Consistency has been an issue; however, and Akashdeep missed several chances in the HWL opener against Australia and India could have recorded a historic win had those chances been converted.
In the finals against a depleted German side (with several players injured), Akashdeep and Sunil wasted several chances. Sunil did score but against a full-strength German team, India's lapses may have proved costly.
Experienced captain Manpreet Singh, cool-headed as ever will be the key in midfield along with Chinglensana. The midfield has been erratic of late with a bad outing against England and a mediocre performance in the bronze medal match against Germany in the HWL Final. Barring those two encounters, the midfield looks solid.
However, the Indians have to improve their penalty corner conversion rate. Rupinder Pal Singh and young-gun Harmanpreet Singh will have a major role to play. Hopefully, the young defenders guided by Sjoerd Marijne can pitch in too as drag-flickers.
