As the suspense surrounding the announcement of the final 16-member squad for Rio heightens with the completion of the Six Nations Invitational Tournament at Valencia, players of the Indian Men’s hockey team are eager to learn what the fortunes have in store for them.
In a mere span of three weeks, the Blueshirts have scaled their highest summit of international hockey success in longer than three decades with a silver medal at the 2016 FIH Champions Trophy in London but soon after, slumped to a forgettable 5th-place finish among the six participating teams in the Spanish port city. All the scrutinization and brainstorming sessions that are now underway in order to patch up the Indian unit will have to address the takeaways arising from the latest outing.
Hence, we now take a look at the 5 takeaways for the Indian Men's hockey team from the recently concluded Six Nations Hockey Championship in Valencia:
#5 Conceding early goals
With the improved level of fitness and experience available within our ranks to guard the back line in the face of raging attacks, it was thoroughly disheartening to witness how we let in early goals almost every time we took the field during the course of the Valencia tournament. Granted, our opener was against a prolific German side who had done a fair amount of homework after their hard-fought 3-3 result in the previous meet of the two sides at the 2016 Champions Trophy – but there remains little excuse to justify the similar occurrences in games against Argentina and Ireland as well.
Once the Indian team falls behind within minutes of the starting whistle, they are left to play catch-up over the entire duration left on the clock. In a bid to ensure victory, the side tries out several approaches to find one that is effective enough to actually threaten the opponents’ woodwork – then arises the question of a crucial equaliser which, if they fail to squeeze out for some reason, the danger of the gap widening on the counter looms large on the proceedings.
Therefore, instead of going all guns blazing right from the outset, it would be preferred hereafter that the players settle down at first, hold their shape and then carry out risky exchanges if necessary while pushing forward with amplified intensity.
#4 Avoid complacency against teams ranked lower
Coming into the tournament, hockey houses were ecstatic at the Indian team’s breaking into the Top Five spots of the FIH rankings following their triumphant display at the Champions Trophy 2016. It also implied that the Men in Blue were seeded second, behind only the favourites Germany who are still holders of back-to-back Olympic hockey golds. Argentina in 7th and New Zealand in 8th were the other two sides from the Top Ten, leaving hosts Spain and Ireland ranked 11th and 12th respectively by the FIH as massive underdogs when they locked horns in Valencia.
The outcomes, however, didn’t suit the textbooks as the Indian unit ended up underperforming heavily. A 4-0 thrashing by Germany, a 1-0 defeat to New Zealand, a hard-earned 3-3 against Argentina, 1-1 with Spain and a narrow 2-1 over minnows Ireland left us languishing in the lower half of the final standings with a meagre five points from as many matches.
#3 Striker Sardara Singh to enhance goalside finishing
If one took a closer look at our strikers’ recent performances, it would be vividly apparent that none other than vice-captain SV Sunil has clicked for India on every occasion. There have been a few PC goals here and there, fetched by our drag-flickers while midfielders Devinder Walmiki and Sardara Singh featured in the scoresheets with timely goals secured from open play to their names.
A forward lineup that boasts of talented individuals like Nikkin Thimmaiah, Ramandeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Akashdeep Singh and the rested Mandeep Singh who top-scored in the Champions Trophy lacks the maturity and experience to enforce wider margins in victory by scoring more frequently, as would be required in a platform as lofted as this year’s Olympics.
Midfielder Manpreet Singh has been exquisite at the centre which renders Sardara’s effectiveness up front as the perfect answer to India’s present goal-getting woes. That leaves us with a captain who has a tremendous lot to offer inside the opposition’s area which could easily outweigh his current contribution in midfield.
#2 Rupinder Pal Singh needs to raise his consistency game
After sitting out the Champions Trophy in the face of burnout concerns, ace defender Rupinder Pal Singh returned to the Indian lineup to perform in the capacity of a fullback who would double up as a lethal drag-flicker for his side in Valencia.
Filling in the boots of a drag-flicker, he did land himself among the goals but failed miserably in his primary duties of a defender. Multiple lapses and unforced giveaways later, his stood out as the poorest performance at the Indian backline.
Although his Rio chances wouldn’t be affected by his Six Nations’ showing, it's for the sake of India's podium chances at the approaching Olympics that Rupinder lifts his consistency quotient in national colours at the earliest.
#1 Selecting the Olympic Sixteen is exceedingly tough now
A limited bench-strength at their disposal, Indian men’s hockey team will participate in the Rio Olympics 2016 with an overall count of 16 members.
Stalwarts like custodian Sreejesh, defenders Raghunath and Rupinder, midfielders Manpreet Singh and Danish Mujtaba and forward SV Sunil are sure-shot inclusions whereas the likes of SK Uthappa, Nikkin Thimmaiah and Talwinder Singh await the naming of India’s final squad with bated breath.
Come 12th July, all questions will be answered when the Olympic team list is declared by Hockey India, and it’s a no-brainer that the immense competition between quality players available today to represent the nation at the highest stage in the sporting world has complicated matters enormously for the selectors.
