Paul’s project: Turn sloppy to strong

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Van Ass used the Azlan Shah Cup in March as an ice-breaker, experimenting with the team and its style. India won the bronze medal but what became evident from his first outing with the team was his persistence on strengthening India’s defence. During the month-long camp in New Delhi ahead of the World League, Van Ass has worked on India’s defensive structure, focusing on getting the angles right. “Every player, including the last defender, has to step forward during attacks and similarly, all of them including the strikers have to fall back while defending. It sounds simple but it’s hard to perfect it. But the players have done well,” Van Ass had said earlier, explaining his new ‘10 attacking and 10 defending’ strategy.

Midfielder Manpreet Singh might be tested in the position of a sweeper back as Van Ass looks for players with strong technical abilities to man the defence. Manpreet has emerged as one of the key players in the last 12 months and has been versatile enough to play in different positions.

But it’s not just about defensive structure. Van Ass has also shown he does not care much about reputation in his endeavour to make the backline formidable. He left out drag-flicker Rupinderpal Singh from the initial squad. A national team regular since London Olympics, Rupinderpal was not included in the squad for being error-prone at the back and poor conversion rate from penalty corners. However, a last-minute injury to VR Raghunath handed him a lifeline and he was drafted back to the squad.

However, it will be interesting to see if Van Ass continues with Rupinderpal as his first-choice drag-flicker. Jasjit Singh, returning to the side after the World Cup, is another option. India’s inability to win penalty corners and abysmal conversion rate has been other areas that Van Ass has focused on. Against France, Van Ass wants India to be clinical in this aspect of the game. “The key tomorrow (Saturday) will be to get the crucial penalty corners in our name and convert them,” he said.

Raghunath, meanwhile, isn’t the only player who will miss the tournament due to injury. SV Sunil (shin injury) and Kothajit Singh (ankle) too were replaced last minute by youngsters Satbir Singh and Devinder Walmiki. A setback no doubt, but the injuries might prove to be a blessing in disguise for the players who have been trying to stake claim for a regular place in the national team.

Focus will be on how Satbir, Devinder, Yuvraj Walmiki, Lalit Upadhyay and Jasjit Singh perform. Despite the early signs of promise, these players have been on the fringes of the national team. As Van Ass rebuilds the team ahead of next year’s Games, these players know they wouldn’t get a better opportunity to impress the coach.

Women eye Rio berth

While the men have already booked an sOlympic berth, the women’s team will be keen to follow in their footsteps as they open their campaign in the World League semifinals against hosts Belgium on Saturday.

Going by world rankings, there is hardly anything to differentiate between India (13th) and Belgium (12th) and the side which manages to overcome the pressure will come out on top on Saturday in the Pool B match. But going by recent records, Belgium hold an edge over the Indians as they defeated them twice during the 2014 FIH Champions Challenge 1 in Glasgow.