Another chapter in Indo-German rebuilding exercise

By S. Thyagarajan

MUMBAI, FEB. 25. Yet another endeavour to regain the stature and to redefine an enchanting hockey ethos begins for India tomorrow. Engaging the shuffled national outfit in the first of the three Test series is Germany, also on the rebuilding mode. To say an interesting combat is in the offing will be stating the obvious; but it cannot go unsaid.

From the Indian standpoint, it is tempting to recall the last encounter between the teams in Perth where India won the trophy against the Germans in April.

An evaluation of the strengths should be weighed against the background of this verdict, although optimism on that score should be tempered by the overall results, which are incredibly slanted towards Germany. Out of the 65 meetings, India has won only 13 and lost 32. Again, stretching statistics beyond a stage to judge quality is meaningless.

That a contrast in styles and system will unfold tomorrow at the Mahindra Stadium is certain. In fact, this should be the most fascinating part of the series which is viewed by both as an exercise designed to iron out weaknesses. Quite predictably, India is fielding a fairly impressive mix of experience and expertise laced with a handful of junior stars who distinguished themselves last year. Bipin Fernandes and Tejbir Singh need to be scrutinised carefully against the tough opponents. Anurag Raghuvanshi, Prabhjot Singh and Baljit Singh Dhillon, who has been chosen to lead the team, are in a different league.

To fathom what Cedric D'Souza has programmed for the encounter is a futile exercise. Cedric, or more precisely his strategies, will be observed, debated and dissected when they surface tomorrow. As a votary of employing a tight mid-field, Cedric is expected to project the strongest phalanx in this area. Sukwinder Singh Gill, Baljit Singh Saini and Thirumalvalavan will be the core of this combination, supported in the deep by Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla and Dinesh Nayak, all Olympians. Also in focus will be Jude Menezes, in front of his home crowd, after acquiring the polish and poise of modern goal-keeping.

The injury to Jagan Senthil cripples the right flank a bit, but the trio of Deepak Thakur, Gagan Ajit Singh and Sameer Dad can trouble any defence. In the absence of Dhanraj Pillay, who has just returned from the Malaysian league, Gagan Ajit Singh will lead the strike force. Deepak Thakur is another striker with a fairly decent record in internationals. The same is true in the case of Sameer Dad, who is capable of producing some fantastic goals.

If the Indians rely on flair, fluency and finesse, the Germans opt for solidity, strength, systematisation and set-play. Although aesthetics is not anathema for them, their chief virtue is athleticism. Bernhard Peters, the new coach, cannot be spoken of in the same breath as his predecessor, Paul Lissek. But as a junior coach, Peters has been well trained in the German system where the approach to coaching is more or less similar.

The Germans, who finished fifth in Sydney 2000 after missing a berth in the last four in a dramatic turnaround against Britain, are a strong bunch here with as many as eight from that team. Michael Green, that inscrutable defender, is the veteran of the pack, and fittingly gets the honour of leading the team. Bjorn Michel and Tobias Hentschel are among the best penalty corner hitters. Oliver Domke brings to the frontline an aura of class as does Sascha Reinalt.

International hockey returns to this metropolis after more than two decades. Notwithstanding the fact that more attention is riveted on the Australian cricket team set for the opening Test on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium, the interest for the India- German match is fairly discernible if the turnout for the training sessions are any indication.

Both the teams had strenuous workouts at the Stadium, with the Germans repeating the training in the evening to get themselves acclimatised. This will be their first match outdoors after the end of the indoor season a few weeks ago.

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