Hockey World League semi-finals: India take on lowly France

The team relies heavily on Akashdeep Singh for field goals

India open their campaign in the Hockey World League (HWL) semi-finals against France, who are ranked 18th in the world. The Indians have already qualified for the Rio Olympics and will not be fretting over the results in this tournament, which also doubles up as an Olympic qualifier.

It is a good opportunity for the Indian side to start preparing for the summer games next year and test the new strategies introduced by coach Paul van Ass. The HWL would help India concentrate on performances and following the coach’s instructions rather than results. They can also test the youngsters as key players like VR Raghunath, SV Sunil and Kothajit Singh suffered injuries right before the tournament.

Their opponents, France come into the tournament in some good form, having won the HWL Round 2, beating China in the final. Their dominance in the tournament was such that both the ‘Player of the Tournament’ and ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ awards were won by their squad members – halfback Brisac Simon and custodian Martin Zylbermann – respectively.

Squad:

India

Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Harjot Singh

Defenders: Manpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurmail Singh

Halfbacks (Midfielders): Gurbaj Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Sardar Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Devindar Walmiki

Forwards: SV Sunil, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Yuvraj Walmiki, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Satbir Singh

France

Goalkeepers: Martin Zylbermann, Edger Reynaud

Defenders: Victor Charlet, Forgues Jean Baptiste, Peters Deutz Cristoforo, Guillaume Samson, Francois Scheefer

Halfbacks (Midfielders): Gaspard Baumgarten, Aristide Coisne, Guillaume Deront, Tom Genestet, Francois Goyet, Lyon Romain, Martin Brisac Simon, Charles Masson

Forwards: Hugo Genestet, Kieffer Jean-Laurent, Olivier Sanchez.

Key Players

Rupinder Pal Singh

He is the lone drag-flick specialist in the squad which puts some extra pressure on him to convert those penalty corners earned. He was initially dropped from the squad but was later recalled to replace injured VR Raghunath. Despite being a defender by trade, Van Ass is playing him in midfield and he hasn’t disappointed one bit, having scored plenty in the warm-up matches.

Sardar Singh

The captain of the Indian team has a major role to play in midfield. He provides support to the defenders breaking down opposition attacks while holding the ball well when the team is in possession. The precision in his passing is analogous to a surgeon while he can also come up with vital goals.

Akashdeep Singh

The Punjab-based player has already settled into the team and is the spearhead in the Indian attack force. Despite being just 20 years old, he has 71 appearances for the national team, scoring 28 goals in the process. With the injury to striker SV Sunil, the onus falls on Akashdeep to get the goals.

Recent head-to-head meetings

India beat France in the 1st practice match of the HWL semis by the narrowest of margins with Rupinder Pal Singh scoring the only goal of the match from a penalty corner. Before that, these two teams met in the 2013 Robobank HWL series in Netherlands with India hammering the French 6-2.

In the London Olympics qualification tournament in 2012, India played France twice, with the first match ending 6-2 in India’s favour. In the final, the French were given a spanking as India ran riot, winning the tournament in Delhi, with the scoreline reading – ‘India 8-1 France’.