India looks ahead with confidence

By S. Thyagarajan

PERTH, APRIL 14. Enveloped in a rare mood of wellbeing, if not totally euphoric, of having achieved some significant gains, India's hockey preparations for the Olympics are now neatly engraved. What the team lacked in the earlier months was confidence, blasted by oft repeated reverses despite the quality work on the field.

The gaps, mainly in goal-keeping and in the defence of penalty corners, have been narrowed; though they have not, by any stretch of imagination, been eliminated.

Self belief in sport is half the battle won. And the good sign is that the Indian players feel they are good enough to be in the elite group. To reach that mental zone they had to work hard, which they did in Brisbane during their two-week training.

There is a definite pattern emerging in the system, defensive though, owing to certain limitations. The area where improvement is apparent is in goal-keeping. Ever since that memorable save of a penalty stroke against Malaysia in the Aslan Shah Trophy in Kuala Lumpur last month, Jude Menezes is a transformed man, assured, athletic and even intrepid.

The trace of hesitation, which usually let him down badly in the early minutes of a contest and invariably hit the team hard invoking criticism of his role in the devastating verdicts against Germany, South Korea and Pakistan in the Aslan Shah tournament, is disappearing.

At least, his body language suggests that. Even in the opening game against Australia in Sydney, Stacy slotted twice in a row raising apprehensions whether goal-keeping continues to be the bane. The errors in positioning as also in padding shots are significantly fewer now.

Dilip Tirkey and Dinesh Nayak have settled down to a perfect system, showing good understanding and co-ordination. The of errors here too have been considerably reduced, although Nayak is prone to be over aggressive in tackles, drawing unfavourable attention from umpires. He needs to be cautioned by the coach on this.

Basically, the team's virtue lies in the mid-field, the importance of which gained primacy when Cedric D'Souza introduced the concept of ``tight mid-field play'' as the formula for success in modern hockey. The emphasis continues thanks to the availability of seasoned and proficient players like Ramandeep Singh, Mohammad Riaz, Thirumalvalavan and Sukhbir Singh Gill.

So far skipper Ramandeep and the young wing-half, Gill have not put a foot wrong. The work load that Ramandeep is willing to carry in the zone is amazing. Gill is equally elegant and shows no inhibition in joining the frontline. He has been associated in quite a few goal-worthy attempts. Riaz oscillates from brilliant to bad, unable to play a well defined role, while Thirumal, a fine tackler, releases the ball in undue haste losing possession or back passing it when the need is to push on with the attack.

Unison is something which the frontline has not threaded to perfection. There is still a fair amount of loose play, lack of control and understanding in and around the goal area. The attack centres on the ability and enterprise of Dhanraj Pillay, marked heavily by a cluster of defenders. No doubt, he ventures heroically to slip through, but is not always successful. The younger forwards Deepak Thakur and Gagan Ajit Singh, or even Samir Dad, are content to play second fiddle rather than taking the initiative even when chances surface.

In the absence of a specialist winger, the attack neglects the advantage of using the width of the ground, converging around the striking circle and making the whole exercise more complex and complicated. These inadequacies have cost quite a few goals even from vantage positions. Accuracy is the essence of attack, and minus that weaving and working up moves make no sense.

The return of Baljit Singh Dhillon after the rib injury against Germany in Sydney somewhat lifted the quality of attack against South Africa on Thursday. He slotted in two goals. Deepak and Gagan have been among the goals but they need to integrate themselves more in constructive workouts. Samir Dad creates the openings but is weak in finish.

Confidence, which the team has certainly acquired now, must remain as it is, and never be allowed to give in to complacency. Coach Baskaran is alive to the fact and pointed out that apart from a single win against Australia, nothing very spectacular has been achieved. The first meeting against Germany tomorrow is a mere academic exercise, and Baskaran is toying with the idea of blooding a few and resting seniors like Dhanraj and Riaz.

It is time Gagan and Deepak played a full match against such a tough combination as Germany. Even Anwar Khan, whose ball play is eye catching, must be given a fair trial as also Baljit Singh Chandi.

The Indians should now focus on Sunday's final against the European champion, which is in full strength here. The way the Germans erased from memory their 2-4 Sydney verdict in the first leg against the Aussies on Thursday and pinned them down denying a goal mirrors their fortitude and fighting qualities. To conquer such a set of motivated players, whose professionalism and systematisation come from near perfect trapping and long hits, is not an easy task.

The German system is a synthesis of soccer and basketball. The Germans play at least thrice as fast as India does. The verdict may well depend on who controls the lever of pace. In Sydney, where India lost 0-2, it was the Germans who had the handle, leaving very little ball possession to the Indians. If India manages to reverse this on Sunday, then it is a worthy final between the skill of the Indians and the power of the Germans.

Saturday's matches: Australia v South Africa (8-30 a.m. IST), India v Germany (10-30 a.m.).

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