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India produced a rather underwhelming performance while defeating minnows Wales 4-2 in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on Thursday, 19 January. Going into this match, India had the tall task of winning by a margin of eight goals or more to top their group – Pool D – and qualify directly for the quarter-finals.
However, what emerged was a highly error-prone performance which, at one stage, even put the prospects of India winning this match in doubt.
India struggle with Hardik Singh's temporary absence in Hockey World Cup
The big question going into this contest was how the Indian team was going to cope with the loss of their most important and dynamic player – Hardik Singh. It became clear in the first half itself that Hardik’s absence was impacting them greatly.
This match showed in stark relief how heavily dependent the Indian team is on the star midfielder as far as this Hockey World Cup is concerned. In his absence, the team looked cagey, lacking in aggression, creativity, and even skills.
The first quarter of this Hockey World Cup match saw the Indians being on the attack constantly, but without any success. There were some promising incursions into the circle, but the finishing touch was missing. The Wales side hardly had any chances, hence, Indian defense remained untroubled.
As India’s wait for their first goal increased in the second quarter also, pressure began to grow. The lack of assertiveness in the midfield was very apparent. What was more worrying was the inability of Indian players to win one-on-one battles and make accurate passes. However, hopes of Indian fans went up when their team earned a penalty corner.
Harmanpreet Singh, without a goal in his first two matches of the Hockey World Cup, was expected to finally come good in this match. However, he failed to make use of the first PC in the match, and the next one also. However, the second PC did bring a goal for India, albeit in an indirect way.
After the ball had gone out of the circle, following another unconvincing drag-flick from Harmanpreet, Shamsher Singh took control of it inside the 23-meter line and smashed it hard into the netting. India finally got the lead in the 22nd minute.
However, there was a lot lacking in India’s play in this Hockey World Cup match. They weren’t asserting themselves like they did in the earlier two matches. This might have been due to putting too much pressure on themselves. There seemed to be a tendency among players to be ultra-cautious in their approach, not trusting their skills to overpower the opponents.
India improve in second half of Hockey World Cup match vs Wales
Things looked much better at the start of the second half as the Indian team started playing in better rhythm. Passing and positioning seemed to be back in tune. The results came soon also. In the 33rd minute, Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh worked brilliantly in tandem to increase India’s lead.
Akashdeep gave a forward pass to Mandeep and ran ahead himself. Mandeep then offloaded the ball back to Akashdeep as the latter charged into the circle and unleashed a ferocious hit from the left-hand side to the far corner of the goal post. The goalkeeper had no chance of stopping it despite stretching his left leg fully.
However, this rhythm of the Indian team was soon lost again. What hurt the home team most was that their biggest scoring weapon going into the Hockey World Cup, Harmanpreet and his drag-flick, was defanged. India got as many as four PCs in the third quarter, but none went in. Not only was the India captain not getting past the goalie, his hits didn’t seem to have that rasping quality they have become famous for.
Wales stun Indian fans into silence with two quick goals
Though the home team was repeatedly driving into the circle as players like Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, and Jarmanpreet Singh became more involved, the Welsh side was just crowding the front of their goal. This made scoring difficult and India had to contend with just penalty corners, which were looking barren.
Amidst waves of Indian attacks, Wales got a PC of their own. Gareth Furlong took the shot and expertly smashed the ball to the bottom corner of the near post, in the 43rd minute.
Harmanpreet, meanwhile, seemed to be wilting under the pressure of his inability to score in the Hockey World Cup and showed signs of being on the edge. He was looking ‘sullen’ as Ric Charlesworth described it on commentary. He also wasn’t able to play the leading role in defence that he did in last match.
The situation got worse for India in the 45th minute when another PC came Wales’ way. This time, PR Sreejesh made a good stop with his outstretched right leg but the ball ricocheted off his pads and went back to the opposition.
Jacob Draper took the ball on left-hand side of the ‘D’ and smashed it above the veteran Indian goalie as he got horizontal on the ground. The ball went inside and levelled the score, as dazed Indian fans watched on.
Indian team finally gets its groove back in last quarter
Graham Reid must have given an earful to his players. The fourth quarter saw India finally coming into their own. Now, every Welsh player who had the ball was being challenged and the home team went into aggressive mode.
The result came immediately. In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, a brilliant interplay between Sukhjeet Singh and Akashdeep saw the latter driving across the top of the circle and using the tomahawk hit to beat the goalie and give India the lead again.
Several other chances came India’s way, but Mandeep Singh, otherwise brilliant in this game, failed to provide the finishing touch. The desperate defending from the Welsh team inside their circle also made the task difficult.
However, the pressing style shown by India could have produced great results if implemented right from the beginning. India managed to earn a penalty corner in the very last minute of the game, at a time when the Welsh team had pulled their goalkeeper. This allowed Harmanpreet to finally score and get off the mark in this tournament. However, it was Akashdeep who starred for India in this Hockey World Cup game.
