If India were looking for just a mere win against hockey minnows Hong Kong, well the mission was achieved. But in case they wanted to send a warning to their ‘real’ rivals the message was nowhere to be seen. India’s 5-1 win over Hong Kong, a rag-tag unit consisting of car mechanics, business men and an airline steward was, by no stretch of imagination, an annihilation which many would have expected. Nuggets from coach • Yes I was indeed sad when Kamalpreet missed the penalty stroke • In fact I would say Hong Kong adjusted well and settled down • Indian defence was again wanting otherwise we would not have conceded six penalty corners • We are working on it (midfield) and I am sure we will improve as we play our next matches • The forwards had let down the team. They missed several chances. With wins over Australia, Pakistan and a draw against eventual champion Holland at the Champions Trophy in Cologne few days back, India should have streamrolled Hong Kong at Busan. Instead even lowly Hong Kong could expose a few chinks in our armoury. If Hong Kong could tear India’s defence then they should seriously put on their thinking cap. India conceded six penalty corners and three of them came in quick succession.Worse, the Indians even fumbled on their penalty stroke which was taken by Kamalpreet Singh. To quote one of the players in the Busan team, ‘‘it was a scrappy match.’’ To be more specific on defence he says, ‘‘Unfortunately, the lapses in conceding penalty corners against Hong Kong continued from the Champions Trophy.’’There is no doubt that the team has ample talent and the youngsters proved it at the Champions Trophy. However, the players need to be backed with proper planning and tactics. Coach Rajinder Singh’s comments after the match that the turf was new and our players could not adjust to the conditions is a futile exercise to shift the blame from the think-tank.
