The Indian men’s hockey team appears to have done ‘enough’ in the first three Olympic matches to show the Hockey world that the bronze and silver medal winning performances at the 2015 Hockey World League Final League and 2016 Champions Trophy respectively were no “flash in the pan”. Of course, critics would say the Olympics is a big stage and India’s real test would be in Rio.
The national team appears to be playing as a unit – the defence has looked rock-solid – it did not matter whether it was Surender or Harmanpreet or Rupinder, or anybody else, everyone worked to a plan and kept frustrating their opponents. The team have significantly reduced leaking unnecessary penalty corners as well.
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The biggest plus of this team is that they exude so much confidence when they hold the ball – they are unperturbed even when hustled by an opponent to win the ball from them – the team have made good use of the aerial ball whenever the defence looked to be in some sort of strife. Uncalled for backpasses among the fullbacks are a thing of the past, as this have cost India dearly in the past.
Also read: 5 things we have learnt from Indian men’s hockey performances in Rio
The Indian forward line has got smarter than ever. They have quickly learnt the importance of creating penalty corners as the team have a battery of drag-flickers to make the most of it. Indian forwards are doing well to play on to the foot of an opponent in their opponent’s striking circle and engineering short corners.
The only jarring note is the absence of too many field goals. Of course, Chinglensana and Kothajit scored field goals against Argentina, but they are not our forwards. It is for the likes of Akashdeep, Nikkin, Ramandeep and Sunil to announce themselves in Rio. This is not to suggest that the quartet has not done anything of note.
They have run hard, distributed the ball well and probably need to put their thinking cap on when it comes to their ‘finishing’. Hockey fans are eagerly looking to see spectacular field goals from India – remember Nikkin’s darting run on the left and a backhander that just missed the cage against Germany, or even Akashdeep who nearly broke past two-three players and fumbling with its final effort.
This Indian team have given us Indian hockey a ‘lot of hop’e for the future – our forward line scoring field goals will make a near-perfect scenario for the Blueshirts.
