Champions Trophy: India face home truth

“We need to be grounded. These results do not matter in the bigger scheme of things. What it does is help us qualify for the Olympics two years in advance. Bigger challenges await us now,” Walsh had said just days before his acrimonious exit from India.

Walsh knew those flattering-to-deceive performances by his team did not mask the deficiencies in several departments. He was aware that India’s actual challenge came from the Europeans and Australia, and not the Asian teams.

Just a few months back, India’s dismal run at the World Cup nearly cost him his job. India did not win any of their matches against these opponents and finished a lowly ninth. A win against Australia was a step in the right direction. But the key is to ensure it wasn’t a one-off thing. “We have beaten Australia once. Now we need to start beating them consistently,” Walsh said after the 3-1 series win last month.

Morale boosting run

Even though the Australian is no longer with the team, the players seem to remember his words. The Champions Trophy may well provide a reality check for a team whose morale has been boosted by their recent winning run.

To assess India’s chances for the Champions Trophy, it is crucial to take into account the results from the World Cup as much as last two months’ form.

The home advantage and the fact that most teams are keen to experiment in Bhubaneswar are the two factors that work in India’s favour. But those that work against the team outweigh the positives.

On Monday night, India got a glimpse of the challenge that awaits them, when they lost to Holland by a solitary goal in a practice match. While these are the results you generally take with a pinch of salt, it did well to expose a few chinks in the Indian armour.

Except for the closing stages of the match, India were defending deep in their half, hardly managing to get possession. They hardly created any chances. Sardar Singh, recovering from an ankle injury, was not used much and Manpreet Singh, filling in for him as a centre-half, did not have the same impact.

Manpreet had smoothly settled into the role at the Asian Games and even against Australia last month. His real test, though, will be against the technically stronger teams. India’s toothless-ness in front of goal and ineffectiveness from penalty corners are the other aspects that will need to be addressed if the team hopes for a podium finish in Bhubaneswar.

High performance director Roelant Oltmans, doubling up as India’s chief coach, had earlier highlighted that Holland, Germany, Australia, Belgium and England are the teams they need to start beating on a regular basis.

“That’s the only way forward for us,” he said. “It won’t be easy but we have to beat the best to move up.” Over the next fortnight, India will be pitted against these on home turf. But the players know it will take more than just good form to get the better of these heavyweights.

AREAS OF CONCERN

Penalty corners

India have struggled to earn — and convert — penalty corners against top European teams and Australia. VR Raghunath and Rupinderpal Singh have enjoyed a decent conversion rate against Asian teams but have come a cropper against well-structured defences, as was evident during the World Cup. Perhaps that’s the reason why the selectors chose a third drag-flicker, Gurjinder Singh, along side the two established ones.

Field goals

Circle penetrations is one aspect that former coach Terry Walsh was not entirely happy with. While the number gradually increased during his tenure, failure to make it count highlighted the wastefulness of Indian forwards. Akashdeep Singh, who has scored some of the most crucial goals recently, is recuperating from a niggling injury, which does not augur well for the team.

Midfield

India have the tendency to sit back and hit the opposition on counter-attacks, using the speed of SV Sunil and the craft of Sardar Singh. However, for majority of the periods, they tend to defend deep, putting the back-line under constant pressure. India will need to be more assertive in the midfield and win more battles there to keep the possession of the ball.
(Mihir Vasavda)