A silver lining in defeat too

In the entire tournament, except perhaps in the semi-finals against Pakistan, the Indians did not click as a team. The poor start in the final was thus not surprising but tactical errors by the Indian camp was again to be blamed for the defeat.

There is nothing unusual in players’ losing form, especially after the hectic Champions Trophy schedule last month. However, one feels that they were let down by the think-tank, which was not up to the mark.

Head to head, the Indian tacticians were outsmarted by their Korean counterpart in the final. Barring the spirited fightback for 20 minutes in the second half, the Koreans were in total control of the proceedings. After breaching the Indian defence for the first time, the Koreans did not rest but were poaching for as many goals as possible.

On the other hand, after their superb fightback with scores level at 3-3, advantage was with India as the Korean coach was seen tearing his hairs in disgust. This was time for India to go all out and close in the match on their hapless rival, but the Indians surprisingly fell back and played defensive in the final phase.

Modern hockey is played as much on the drawing board of the coaches as on the turf. Knowing India’s ‘chocking traits’ too well chief coach Rajinder Singh — he can’t forget the Champions Trophy — should have planned things differently. But then we also know how poor planners we are!