Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The crowds werent there,though a couple of thousands did turn up to cheer their team in the battle for seventh spot with Argentina. Those who showed up were disappointed with the 4-2 loss; those who didnt were lucky to miss what would perhaps be Indias worst performance in the tournament.
It would be easy to say that India ended the 12th hockey World Cup on Friday with their best finish since 1994. But there would be concerns,a lot of them,in fact,for the coach and this team after their days performance. Just like the scoreline often doesnt give a complete picture of a close game,it doesnt explain either how bad the Indians were on the field. Fridays performance would not merit the defence that the team played well and lost,or that there has been improvement despite the loss. For once,it was déjà vu,seeing the Indian team play the way they have been doing for so many years. It also meant the Argentines kept their winning record against India in World Cups intact.
Loss of momentum,absence of scoring chances,lack of penetration after being down,defence in disarray,wide gaps in every area for the opposition to capitalise on the list of Indian mistakes were too many to count. The match was never supposed to be easy,but it was surprising the way Argentina kept the game in their control. Instead of going on the attack to seize momentum,the Indians played to the opposition. It was a slow build up that resulted in Tomas Argento scoring off a rebound in the 28th minute.
The Indians did try to create a couple of moves,but there were two penalty corners that went waste,and there was a beautiful combined move from the half line between Tushar Khandker,Sardar Singh and Arjun Halappa that ended in Gurvinder Chandi hitting out.
Different game
The second half was a different game altogether. Argentina appeared to have decided that a one-goal lead was nothing,and they came out firing. But India managed to hold on and in the 42nd minute,a penalty stroke helped level scores. Four minutes and three Argentinian goals later,Indias chances of a win had vanished.
A quick counter gave Argentina their first penalty corner of the game and Lucas Vila restored the lead. Then,as if there was no break in play,the backboard sounded twice and the score was 4-1. India reduced the lead in the 49th minute but Argentina had done enough. They crammed the defence and while the Indians kept at it,they failed to breach the circle and the Argentine wall.
