Bronze at HWL Final, but what next? Former players on how to make Indian hockey great again

In the end, India managed to retain their bronze medal at the Hockey World League Final against Germany, who were playing with only 11 men and no substitutes. India won 2-1 but, boy were they tested by the Germans.

It was an unpredictable run at the HWL Final. They were brilliant against Australia in the first game. They were then humbled by Germany and England. Against Belgium, in the quarter-final, they were ruthless. In the semi-final against world No 1 Argentina, it was a valiant effort but conditions were not ideal. Against Germany in the bronze medal playoff match, they managed to eke out a win.

However, with the World Cup less than a year away, India have their work cut out if they want to lift the trophy that has eluded them for 42 years. Their finishing was poor throughout the tournament. The defence too, was caught napping on quite a few occasions. Penalty corner conversion remains to be their Achilles heel. So how does one solve this problem?

“No doubt we had a lot of chances in the semi-final,” former India captain Dhanraj Pillay told The Field. “They were very close sitters which we missed. But there were improvements as well. It is good before the World Cup we played this HWL Final. Forward line should work hard to create those chances because end of the day, the team that scores maximum goals wins. Focus in the D and whatever opportunity you get and create must result in goal,” he said.

Scope for improvement

The 49-year-old, however, feels that team needs to go back to the drawing board. “We need to concentrate on hitting and stopping. Plus at the right time we have to make the right passes. Our players should know when to release the ball. When the defence is moving with the ball, they should know how the centre forward would receive it and how they should give the ball,” said Pillay.

Sjoerd Marijne’s men shouldn’t be too happy with a bronze medal too, as they know that they have to be more consistent.

“[The win against Germany] was the first match we won in regulation time,” Viren Rasquinha, another former India captain, told The Field. “Right now we are building up to the World Cup. Against Australia we played really well but after that it has been only in patches. That is the biggest challenge the coach faces – to bring consistency to this team. If we harbor hopes of winning a medal at the World Cup, the team has to be consistent over six to seven matches. We are not consistent for 60 minutes.”

“In the match against Germany, they had exactly 11 players so you will have to take that result with a pinch of salt. Key things are focus and discipline,” added Rasquinha. “Lot of players are switching off in matches. At this level you cannot afford to switch off. We are miss-passing, holding the ball too much. We are not disciplined in making short corners when we need to be.”

India’s forward line of Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, SV Sunil and Mandeep Singh failed to score despite opportunities coming their way, which hurt India. “Sunil, Akashdeep have played 200 plus matches for the Indian team. We can’t be teaching them. They know how to do it. It is all about them holding their nerves. Against the big teams you will get only three or four chances. Out of that you have to convert two of them and you cannot miss. They have to learn to be more ruthless in front of goal,” said Rasquinha.

Defense a worry

India’s defence was under the scanner right throughout. Even against Germany, Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar were caught unaware as Germany’s reserve goalkeeper Mark Appel scored.

“There is a problem in the defence. The marking is very poor and that is why we are conceding goals and giving away easy penalty corners. First half against Argentina we gave away plenty of chances as well,” said Olympian Rahul Singh.

Besides lack of field goals, India’s penalty corner conversions have been poor – a long-standing problem. “Beside field goals, we have to work on penalty corners. We have to capitalize on them and make them count,” said former India coach Joaquim Carvalho.

In the end, PC conversions made the difference for the men in blue. In dreadful playing conditions, Argentina ended India’s title hopes by converting the only PC they had in the game, while India failed to convert the two that came their way. In the final, Australia converted both their PC’s against World No 1 Argentina to retain the title with a 2-1 win.

“Rupinder Pal and Harmanpreet are very good. They need to practice more. When I coach, I tell my players to finish the game within 20 minutes so that we can dictate terms. Same way if they can finish the game early, then they can dictate the game to any team in the world,” said Pillay.

Chikte, Karkera impress

One undoubted positive to emerge from the HWL Final in Odisha has to be the heartening performance of goalkeepers Akash Chikte and Suraj Karkera. Marijne backed the youngsters to get the job done after PR Sreejesh was sidelined due to injury.

Chikte was phenomenal against Belgium in the penalty shoot-out. Karkera also impressed by pulling off some outstanding saves. “Individually, I would say Akash Chikte has grown from a very raw goalkeeper to a very mature goalkeeper. He has matured tremendously,” former India goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza told The Field.

“Training at the camp and playing with Sreejesh has made a big difference. Sreejesh has to get fit first. I feel it is going to be a good challenge for him to get back to the squad. Knowing that Chikte and Karkera are maturing in the big tournaments, it will be important for Sreejesh that not only he is No 1 but he will have to prove it,” D’Souza added.

However, their lack of experience playing against big teams was apparent during the penalty corners being taken against India. “It is just maintaining the discipline under pressure. We are cracking under pressure and good teams win matches under pressure that is how you will win a medal,” said Rasquinha.

And that medal at the World Cup has been a dream for many a hockey fan in India. The team deserved the bronze medal in Odisha, but the journey towards bettering that in a year from must begin here.