In case you missed the memo, 2018 is a crucial year for Indian hockey. During the next ten months, the men’s team will be competing in six major tournaments, which includes the year-end World Cup taking place in Bhubaneswar on November 28 - a tournament the men in blue haven’t won since 1975. Now, after 43 years, India will want to win the title in their own backyard.
And on the road to World Cup glory, the first stop is in Malaysia at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where India take on Argentina in their first match on Saturday.
Eight long years
India have won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup five times till date. Their last win, however, came in 2010 when they shared the trophy with South Korea. Since then, they were runners-up in 2016 and finished third three times.
This time around, coach Sjoerd Marijne is going to take it match by match and hopes to win the title.
“I am just aiming for good performance. If we have a good performance, we will play good matches and if we play good matches, we will win. I can’t talk about other teams at this moment. I don’t know what team Argentina will bring. Will they play all their senior players? I know Australia is coming with their full strength,” Marijne told The Field ahead of the tournament.
Fresh faces in squad
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With Marijne stressing on the importance of giving youngsters a chance, Mandeep Mor, Sumit Kumar and Shilanand Lakra make their debut in the senior team. “For us, it is important that the youngsters and experienced players get to play against good teams and show their best performance. We will take it match by match,” said Marijne.
With Sardar Singh as captain, the team has an able leader, who has the experience of winning the tournament. He was a part of the squad that won the title in 2010, where he was voted the best player. In 2008, he captained the team to a silver medal, and in 2015 and 2016 he led them to a bronze and silver respectively.
And Sardar, having been in and out of the squad, will know that this is a massive opportunity if he wants to make a statement that he still has plenty to offer Indian hockey.
Akashdeep Singh, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and goalkeeper P Sreejesh have been rested keeping in the mind the Commonwealth Games next month. With India not bringing their top players to the competition, the onus is on the youngsters to step and show their calibre.
The Sardar Singh-led team put up a fight against Australia before going down 1-2 in a warm-up game on Thursday. Though the team lost with vice-captain Ramandeep Singh scoring India’s lone goal, Marijne was optimistic.
“We played three quarters against Australia to adjust to the humidity. I was happy with a lot of things. For the first match together with this new combination, we put a good performance and we will use this to prepare for the opening game against Argentina.”
Fearless approach is the key
Olympic Champions Argentina await India in their first clash followed by England on March 4. On March 6 they will face world No 1 Australia followed by the hosts Malaysia on March 7. In the last match of the group stage they face Ireland on March 9.
India lost to Argentina 1-0 in the HWL semi-final in December last year in incessant rain and the lung-opener on Saturday gives the Indian team a chance to reverse that defeat.
India will have to play every game with a fearless approach. They have to play to their strengths and make sure to attack on the counter. Marijne knows that his inexperienced backline will be tested against Argentina and Australia. In the Four Nations Tournament held in New Zeland, India conceded 17 goals in eight games. Plus their inner circle penetration should also be up to the mark or else they can be punished on the counter as well. India’s defence will be led by Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey, Amit Rohidas and Sanjeev Xess along with Mor.
With Sardar in the midfield, the team looks solid in the middle with Gurjant and Ramandeep Singh heading the forward line.
If the team functions as a unit, making the final is not a tough ask, despite not being full strength. The ultimate goal is the World Cup, and this squad of players have a chance to book their berth in that squad.
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