Hockey World League: Indian players need to pull up their socks to challenge the elite teams

Thimmaiah Nikkin of India fights for the ball with New Zealand players during the Hero Hockey World League Final

In the World Hockey League Finals so far, it would be an understatement to say that the Indian team’s performance has not been up to the mark. The Indian team has played three matches so far, losing two and drawing one.

In the first match against England the passing and finishing were bad, the penalty corner conversion was average and the defence was poor, which is why Indian team lost the match. The second match was against the New Zeleand team and the problem was the same as that in the England match – the passing was bad and the penalty corner conversion was not great, but at the end India was able to convert one goal.

In the match against the mighty Germans, India played much better hockey as the penalty corner conversion was okay, the finishing was not too great, the strikers came into their rhythm, the defence was firm and the passing was precise. But the last-minute defensive lapses cost them the match.

The performances of Rupinder Pal Singh, Ragunath and Sardara Singh have been not up to mark. The biggest challenge for this Indian team is to improve with each match, and the onus is on these stars to pull up their socks.

In the quarterfinals today, India will face Australia. In that match, the biggest challenge would be to tackle the agility, speed and stamina of the Aussies; the Indian players will have to play out of their skins to control the fast-paced game. The Indian fans must support the hockey team and if they play like they did against the Germans, they can surprise a few. It should be a mouth-watering clash, and the fans would be hoping for better than what we have seen so far in the tournament by the Indians.

The Indian team must focus on their weaknesses like defending, penalty corner conversion, short passes, and perhaps most importantly, fitness levels.

The Indian team needs a strong mindset to challenge these top teams. The junior team in recent times has performed well, but come the major tournaments they have failed at the crucial moments; they finished 10th in the Junior World Cup held last month. Their main problem was conceding goals at the dying moments of the game. For instance, in the match against Korea, India were leading 3-1 with 12 minutes to go but the the strong Asian team struck two goals and levelled the score at 3-3. This ended the dream of the Indian team of entering the quarterfinals, and the players had to be content with classification matches.

I am sure that the new coach Terry Walsh will need some time to bring results into this team. The team needs time to compete with elite sides like Australia, Netherlands and Argentina. The side has many young players who can do well in the future and make the country proud. The likes of Mandeep Singh, Manpreet, Amit Rohidas and experienced players like Sardara, Ragunath, Rupinder Pal Singh can certainly make for a good team.

This year, they have to play major tournaments like Asian Games, World Cup 2014 and other key tournaments. As an Indian fan I would love to see the team perform well but a crucial factor that the players must learn is tackling the many pressures within a game, something which they are currently lacking in.