Perhaps there is nothing as unpredictable as the Indian hockey team. Not even the glorious uncertainties of cricket. After losing by the odd one in three to Spain in the opener, the Indians emerged triumphant 3-2 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller against Pakistan. The Aussies then toyed with Rajinder’s wards before winning 4-1. Even the Germans, considered one of the weaker oppositions, squeezed through by a solitary goal. It was the last chance to make amends for a disastrous Champions Trophy. And how unpredictable they proved to be. With the odds determinedly against them, the hosts dished out perhaps the best performance in the tournament so far, almost jeopardising Holland’s chances of meeting Australia for a 1-2 finish on Sunday. While Holland walked away with a 2-1 win, the Indians with the crowds’ hearts. Unpredictably, even coach Rajinder Singh Jr, who’s always at a loss for words, was more forthcoming at the post match briefing. Without mincing words he slammed the umpires accusing them of being unfair. “They paved the way for Holland,” he said. “Clearly there was a bias. So many short corners were awarded against us (Holland were awarded 8 short corners, two of them resulting in goals). When we indulged in body play, they reprimanded us but let them (Holland) go scot-free,” he fumed. New Zealand umpire Jason McCracken’s decision to award Holland a short corner in the dying minutes of the game raised a lot of eyebrows. Holland took the opportunity gleefully. Taeke Taekema converted the short corner to give Holland the win. Earlier, Holland had surged ahead through Roedrick Weusthof in the 50th minute, while Sandeep Singh drew parity in the 65th minute. All the goals were scored through short corners. Holland had to win this match if they had to set up a Sunday clash with Australia. And they went all out. But the Indians, especially goaltender Bharat Chhetri, were hell bent on spoiling their party. Chhetri, who was for the second game in a row named Man of the Match, came up with some outstanding saves, two of them certain goals. OTHER RESULTS Spain 3 (Santi Freixa 2, Algere) beat Germany 2 (Niklas Meinert Mathis Witthaus); Pakistan 3(Rehan Butt, Muhammad Imran, Mudassar Khan) drew with Australia 3 (Luke Doerner, Matt Naylor, Matthew Wells) The only let down, and a big one at that, was Prabhjot Singh. He missed two sitters once in each half to deny Indians a place to battle for the podium. Had the Indians won on Friday, they would have accumulated six points, thereby edging Germany (five points) out to set up a clash against Spain (nine points) for a place on the podium. Holland coach Roelant Oltsman, though, was convinced that his team “deserved to win” and the officials had a great day. “All the short corners awarded were 100 per cent correct,” he insisted. Money strings may make it an 8-team meet The international hockey federation (FIH) has disclosed plans to introduce a few new tournaments by 2007-08. Speaking at press conference during the Champions Trophy tournament in Chennai, FIH president, Els van Breda Vriesman, noted that with the changing times, commercialisation of the sport had become inevitable. Subsequently, a few changes in the format had to be made. “We’ve to find sponsors. We hope to be ready by the first half of 2006 when our current sponsors renew the contracts.” Vriesman hinted that the Champions Trophy tournament, originally a six-nation tournament could be played on an eight-nation basis. Stating that national federations were also being consulted on introduction of the new tournaments, she said “before switching to the new structure, we will consult with our coaches. The FIH’s executive board will decide on the new calendar accordingly,” she said. However, if the rumour mills are to be believed, The decision has been taken in order to accommodate India and Pakistan. Purely on form, the sub-continental neighbours are found wanting against top international teams. But the absence of two will force Sahara India and broadcasters TEN Sports to think otherwise. Sahara, along with Rabo Bank are FIH’s only global sponsors. It’s believed that to keep the sponsorship flow unharmed and broadcasters happy, the FIH has no option but to change the format. (ENS)
