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Journalism of Courage
Though this was our second straight defeat in the tournament, there were a lot many positives today. Most importantly, the boys did exactly what was required of them. One must not forget that Holland is the obvious favourite, so in a way it was creditable that we gave them a real scare.
To gauge the difference between the sides, take a look at the two teams’ collective experience. While India is a young side, the Dutch are a bunch of hardened pros. But we didn’t let that bother us and fought till the end.
The most heartening feature of today’s game was the fact that our boys were able to get over the disastrous opening game against Spain. I have seen teams that go into a shell after a heavy loss but we didn’t fall into that trap. We played aggressive hockey and went for an all out attack.
After today’s show I repeat what I expressed yesterday: Our boys can match any team in the world even if they play to 60 per cent of their potential. Against Holland today our passing was better and the counter attacks were more frequent. These two factors indicate that we are getting into the groove. I hope our boys will continue the good work.
All we need to do now is just repeat the same game in our remaining matches and the results will be there to see. The only thing I add here is that we must be consistent. Playing aggressive hockey in patches won’t solve our problem, we should have the foot on the pedal for all the 70 minutes. This will not just help us score goals but also fashion a comeback in case we are trailing.
Talking about goals, I should say that I am delighted to see the high scoring matches in this Champions Trophy this year. Refreshingly, these have been field goals and not merely penalty corner conversions. Our defence line today had a huge role to play in keeping a check on set-piece goals. Some terrific saves on the goalline during penalty corners showed the grit and determination of our boys.
The rest day tomorrow will be welcome for the boys, who had two days of hectic competition. We will do some light training and my only advise to them will be: Continue the good work, results will come.
