Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Tirupati, July 24: The number of participants in the ongoing Nutrine sixth Women8217;s Hockey Federation Cup at the SV Arts College grounds has been filtered to four from eight. If one relies on the show of the teams here, then the four Indian Railways IR, Bombay, Haryana and Bihar deserved to be in the semi-finals.
Of them, undoubtedly Indian Railways, are head and shoulders above the rest. Seasoned with rich international experience, this team is waiting for stiffer challenges ahead and their semifinal match against Bombay on Sunday could be one such.
The Railways8217; greatest advantage is that they have been playing as a team at top level for a long time and they also have a bench strength which is nearly as good as the Indian first eleven, all of whom having represented India in last year8217;s World Cup.
Railways coach Ashok Diwan and manager Prem Maya, both former internationals, can be proud that theirs is the only team which has not conceded a goal in pool matches and they had accounted for the maximumnumber of 15 goals.
But Bombay might prove to be a sticky problem if the Railways approach is too casual in the semifinals. For, the Bombay side comprises mainly of Railway players who could not find a place in the Indian Railway team.Many of them are experienced and some others are waiting in the wings to gain entry into the main Railways team. For the same reason, Bombay know the strengths and weaknesses of the Railways side. If Bombay adjust their game tactically to nullify Railways8217; free flow and capitalise on their weaknesses, it could create problems for the defending champions.
Haryana have improved a lot after their first drawn match with Bombay. Athletic and possessed with fine basic skills, they play a very fast game. Their hot pace is good enough to pin down the enemy defence in their own area. But everything depends on how far they would be able to sustain the pace.
After excellent show in the first-half in the crucial Pool B tie on Friday, they wilted when the short-passing Orissa raidswere coming in torrents. They had couple of lucky escapes too in that crucial match.Bihar, who play a similar game as that of Orissa, would be a very difficult opponent for them in the semis. Bihar8217;s main impediment is their slow build-up. It is an upcoming side sprinkled with junior and senior internationals. They can have the last laugh in the semifinal against Haryana if they are in a position to speed up their attacks and at the same time, effectively throttle the fast moving Haryana forwards during counters.
