Hockey World Cup 2018: Despite prospects of Dutch challenge, India to continue with attacking style

Netherlands will face Canada later on Tuesday and the winner will face India in the quarterfinal.

Manpreet Singh celebrates with teammates

In their first knockout game on Thursday, India will play the winner of Netherlands and Canada’s cross-over tie. (PTI Photo)

As was expected before the start of the Hockey World Cup, under coach Harendra Singh, India have displayed an attacking mindset. Throughout the tournament so far, India’s best moments have come when they have pushed in the opposition’s half, to create chances. Against Belgium, the hosts committed men forward despite trailing by a goal late into the second half, which resulted in them taking a 2-1 lead. While the match ended in a stalemate, it showed India’s tenacity up front.

Similar scenes were on showcase in their next game against Canada, when four goals in the final quarter woke up the Bhubaneswar crowd from a silent slumber. India won 5-1, finishing the group stages unbeaten, with 12 goals, the second highest in the tournament.

But now things are about to get tougher. In their first knockout game on Thursday, India will play the winner of former Champions Netherlands and Canada’s cross-over tie. But despite the prospects of a Dutch challenge on the cards, skipper Manpreet Singh insisted India would continue to play attacking hockey.

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“Against Belgium, or Canada, at half-time, we came to the conclusion that we should follow our attacking style. We went too defensive in the first two quarters. But later, we started our attacking display, and then we created many chances. Our best part is attacking. When we defend, we get too defensive and allow the opposition to create too many chances. We do not wish to do that. If we create pressure on the Netherlands, it will be better for us,” the captain told reporters after a training session at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The attacking midfielder Simranjeet Singh, who is the joint leading goal-scorer for the side (3 goals) in the tournament, iterated a similar mindset. “Our natural style of play is attacking. When we need to defend, we will put body backwards. But it does not mean, that against a tougher opposition, we will go on a complete defensive mode,” he said.

Netherlands will face Canada later on Tuesday and the winner will face India in the quarterfinal. “We are expecting to see Netherlands in the quarterfinals. They are a good team. We are all going to watch the match – we will see the positives and negatives of both the teams. Next is a knockout game, and we cannot afford to miss the chances. So, we have to make sure we convert the chances, and give too many chances to the opposition,” Manpreet said.

The midfielder further added that India would also look to strengthen the defence against the experienced Dutch side. “The quarterfinal is very important. If we reach semis, we have a chance to play one more game for 3rd or 4th position. But if you lose here, the tournament is over. Our target is to make our defence strong against Netherlands. They have really experienced midfield and we cannot give them too many chances,” he said.