Trailing India look to find way forward

There will be added anxiety in the do-or-die game against Korea on Tuesday.

Gurjinder Singhs almighty roar could not be drowned by the noise that a small but boisterous gathering made at the National Stadium in the capital on Saturday evening. It was an unmistakable cry of triumph,but in it there was an element of release as well.

Seconds ago,in the 69th minute,the dragflicker had converted a penalty corner to give India a 3-2 lead against Canada. Gurjinders celebration was triumphant as he knew that with only one minute left on the clock,it was in all likelihood a winner and which player doesnt want to score those in world cups? People dont often remember who scored the first goal. What they dont easily forget is who netted the last.

But the burly six-footer from Gurdaspur,it seemed,was relieved too at having put the home team in the lead for the first time in the tournament.

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For a side brimming with talent and who were pre-tournament favourites,this is an alarming piece of statistics. Two of their three Pool A round-robin matches are over and India havent led in them for 99 percent of the time. And they have trailed for close to 80 percent of it. As a result,the India Under-21 team stand a draw or worse away from crashing out of medal contention.

Its not that Manpreet Singh and Co havent played well. In fact,even while trying to catch-up against the Netherlands and Canada,India looked the better team for a bigger part of those 140 minutes on the field. Marginally so against the Dutch,perhaps,but far superior against the Canadians.

But it has been their intermittent lapses of concentration that have come to haunt them. At the start of both their matches,they were sluggish at the back. And they were made to pay on both occasions.

In the third minute against the Netherlands,Tom Hiebedaal weaved past Indias backline with consummate ease to assist the opener,24 hours later Talylor Curran did the same after stealing the ball to set up Sukhi Panesar.

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Each time,India hit back with purpose,but combination of panic,bad luck and some resolute defending saw their attempts being repelled. All of which increased frustration,and that led to further mistakes and consequently soft goals.

Among the positives,and there have been quite a few,India have looked the sharpest team when it comes to penalty corners. Their fitness is top-notch and they dont seem to be running out of steam as the match progresses. In fact,in both games,India have won the second half – 1-0 against the Netherlands and 2-1 against Canada.

Summing up the teams performance against Canada,coach Gregg Clark said: Statistically,we did a lot of right things. We created a lot of chances at the opposite end of the field. Perhaps,there was a lot of anxiety and therefore we conceded early.

Sure enough,there will be added anxiety in the do-or-die game against Korea on Tuesday. India will look to handle it better than they have so far in the World Cup.

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Mondays Fixtures: Group B: Argentina vs Spain at 2 pm; Australia vs France at 4 pm; Group D: England vs Malaysia at 6 pm; South Africa vs New Zealand at 8 pm

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

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