There are few safe assumptions in sport, but one can say with some confidence that India will go through the Olympic Qualifiers in Madrid and book their berth in Athens. That said, there are five areas of India’s play (not counting the Missing Dhanraj factor) that the think-tank and coaching staff will want to examine. Five areas where India could win or lose games — and medals. PENALTY CORNERSTournaments today are decided by the success of teams at penalty corners — both conversion and defending. In today’s speed-driven game, equations change in a flash — and the PC is the best way of doing so. All the main teams in Madrid — Holland, Spain, Pakistan, Malaysia — have at least one expert INDIA’S POSITION: Lacking confidence Reason: The think-tank stopped grooming others once Jugraj Singh emerged. Now, there are no quality drag-pushers. Len Ayappa needs confidence, consistency and improvement in overall play to justify his selection in the team. Dilip Tirkey is the lone hitter and Baljit Dhillon can come good only in indirects. The defence depends on goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, the best player in the team today along with Tirkey. Minus Dhanraj and Jugraj, there are fewer options for defending PC. MINIMISING MISSESTHE off-side rule was removed to increase the number of goals but Indian forwards haven’t been able to take advantage of it, even in the D. Without a specialist for PC, there can be no luxury in letting sitters go away. INDIA’S POSITION: Gagan Ajit Singh is the goal poacher, and has proved himself against Asian teams, but needs to be consistent against all opponents, especially Holland and Spain. The other forwards — Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Sandeep Michael — require drastic improvement if India has to win matches. FEEDERS’ ROLEThe most watched position, the person links the defence and the midfield to create chances for the forwards to score goals. Once occupied by Dhanraj Pillay, brilliant in the last two years after he was shifted there from the striker’s position by Rajinder Singh. The juniors would also like to prove a point. INDIA’S POSITION: Vulnerable, which could be costly. You can’t drop your main playmaker a week before the tournament. There are few options — the other feeder used to be Baljit Singh Dhillon, who persists in holding on to the ball. Dhillon’s defence: ‘‘I do it because the positional play of the forwards is not up to the mark for receiving the passes from me.’’ Arjun Halappa and Prabhjot lack experience in this role. BENCH STRENGTHRolling substitutions are one of the weakest points of Indian hockey, with potentially drastic fallout. Modern hockey is fast and requires stamina and fitness. Only if all 16 players in the squad are utilised can teams expect to beat the Europeans. INDIA’S POSITION: In 2003 Champions Trophy, Rajinder’s defence was that the bench lacked experience. The problem remains but the midfield is the best available. The weakness lies in the front, without a suitable poacher of Gagan’s level STRATEGYIndia are yet to hire a professional coach, and so lack flexibility in mid-game crises. That’s how Holland fought back within six minutes to score four goals to beat India 4-3 in CT 2003. INDIA’S POSITION: Coaches Rajinder and Baldev Singh have been around for two years but are not good tacticians. In Indian hockey, a coach normally plays man-management role more than tactician. The exception is goalkeeping coach AB Subbaiah, whose trainee Devesh Chauhan is among world’s best. Indeed, Chauhan is the chief strategist in the team to formulate plans for defending PCs
