Grim mood in Indian camp

UTRECHT, May 19: If coach Col Balbir Singh sounded rather despondent on Monday evening about India's campaign in the 8th Women's World Cup h...

UTRECHT, May 19: If coach Col Balbir Singh sounded rather despondent on Monday evening about India8217;s campaign in the 8th Women8217;s World Cup hockey tournament, commencing here on Wednesday, then it was not without a good reason. He was not too happy with the health of some of the players and seemed more keen on explaining why the team would not fare well.

Excuses have always been part of Indian hockey. And, in this context, it was quite shocking that Balbir should be so negative even before the first pass-back. Not that India would have found many backers, but then, it was expected of the coach to at least sound positive instead of putting down the team, which had come through two qualification tournaments, in the West Indies and then Zimbabwe.

Thus, India8217;s first World Cup campaign in 15 years seems to have got off on the wrong foot and when the coach himself holds out no hopes, little else can be said of the team8217;s chances, and if they can even match their fourth position in the 1974 World Cup or, forthat matter, 7th in 1978, then it should be gratifying.

Realistically, one cannot look beyond The Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Korea for podium finishes. The Dutch and the Germans won all the World Cups upto 1994 when the Aussies broke the European stronghold with a terrific performance for the gold medal. Incidentally, that Aussie success should be credited as much to their coach Ric Charlesworth as the players themselves.

But these front-runners need to keep an eye on South Africa who would be banking on their star player, Pietie Coetzee who, apart from being the centre-forward, is a penalty corner specialist. Likewise, two other teams, China and Argentina, bear a close watch.

The Chinese have in their ranks Jiuyan Wang, the top scorer at the Junior World Cup in Korea, last year. Wang almost single-handedly guided China to a few victories before they bowed out of semi-final contention on goal-difference. If they perform with some consistency, then China can prove a surprise packet.

Similarly,Argentina have been an unpredictable and temperamental lot, and if they keep their heads firmly on their shoulders, then one can expect them to barge into the top four at the minimum. They have the potential to even win the Cup.

Story continues below this ad

Almost all the teams have a sprinkling of junior World Cup players, but the accent is on experience. The Dutch, of course, will be starting out as the firm favourites, given the obvious advantages of a home team, but one fancies the Australians to come up trumps. Neither the Koreans nor the Germans, appear to carry as much firepower or versatility as the Aussies or the Dutch.

The Aussies are placed in the tougher of the two groups, along with China, Germany and South Africa, with Scotland and the United States making up the numbers. In this context, the Dutch are slightly better-placed having to contend with Argentina and Korea, but should not have much difficulty in getting past the likes of England, India and New Zealand.

In all probability, one expects a clash between theDutch efficiency vs Australian flair in the final on June 30. The men8217;s competition commences on Thursday.

Wednesday8217;s fixtures IST: Scotland vs Australia 4.05 p.m.; India vs England 5.05 p.m.; Korea vs Argentina 6.35 p.m.; South Africa vs China 7.35 p.m., Netherlands vs New Zealand 9.05 p.m. and Germany vs USA 11.35 p.m..