New obstacles in India’s road to Athens

The form of the Europeans can be a cause of concern for the Indians. England’s downward graph since that ’86 World Cup triumph has changed direction. At the European Nation Cup, they beat Holland twice – 3-0 in the league match and on penalties in the bronze playoff. But the most dangerous team seems to be Spain. Before losing on penalties to Germany in the final, they had beaten the Dutch 5-2 in the semis. Under supercoach Maurits Hendriks – who led Holland to gold in 2000 Olympics – Spain has turned a new leaf. Though the Dutch are showing a dip in form but considering their past record they can never be written off.

The European Nation Cup didn’t just refelect the narrowing gap between the top four teams but also gave indicators that the others too were catching up. England, confident after beating the Dutch, lost 1-2 to Scotland and were held 2-2 by Italy.

Spain, despite their fine run, had to struggle against lesser teams. Scores of 6-4 against Ireland and 3-2 against Belgium prove that it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Spain.

And world champion Germany too could score just two goals against hockey minnows France. Even Poland, India’s bug-bear in the 2000 Olympics, scored thrice against the Netherlands, losing 3-4.

These results should be an eye-opener for India’s think-tank. In the highly competitive world of modern hockey, there are no easy matches. As they prepare for the Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur from September 21-28, the message to the team should be loud and clear: Never under-estimate any team.