Indian Oil the team to watch

By Kamesh Srinivasan

JAMMU, DEC. 7. Indian Oil will be the team to beat as the super league of the 60th National hockey championship unfolds at the K.K. Hakhu Stadium here on Friday.

The young team with an average age of 18 years will be put to a test of fire straightaway against the seasoned Punjab and Sind Bank in the Group B opener, but the team is not intimidated by the immediate challenge.

``Actually it is good to start against a strong team. It is a tough group and we should be ready to strike our rhythm quickly,'' said the coach of the Indian Oil team, A.K. Bansal.

It has been a happy journey in the domestic world for the newly formed team, as it won the prestigious Nehru tournament in Delhi recently. The team did well to maintain the tempo by qualifying from one of the toughest groups in the zonal league of this championship.

The strength of Indian Oil lies in its strong forwardline, while the two equally good goalkeepers Devesh Chauhan and Baljeet Singh provide a lot of confidence to the team to go on the attack.

The team has had one bad day in the last two tournaments, when it lost 1-3 to Maharashtra in the zonal league in Mumbai, but the coach said that that was the result of sheer overconfidence, and felt that his team was better off with that experience.

The biggest problem with Indian hockey, which has improved from eighth in Atlanta to seventh in the Sydney Olympics, after the expenditure of a few crores of rupees, is its inability to strike. A bunch of youngsters - Prabhjot Singh, Inderjeet Singh, Hamsa Mojtaba, Kamlesh Kumar and Deepak Thakur, the captain - form a refreshingly vibrant attack for Indian Oil. It will be tough to contain the team, which scored 23 goals and topped the highly competitive Group D in the preliminary league.

It will be foolish to take any team lightly, as all the teams have become match-sharp following the preliminary exercise in which 16 teams made the grade out of 45. So, Hyderabad and Air India will be treated with respect by Indian Oil, which will be playing all its matches on the first three days.

As in the case of Group B, the toughest duel in Group A between Railways and Tamil Nadu is also drawn for the opening day. One moment of indiscretion may mean curtains for Railways, a 21-time champion, or the runner-up of the last two editions, Tamil Nadu.

The other teams in Group A, Karnataka and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), will try hard to show that they have the ability to change the pre-tournament equations.

In Group C, Punjab's fortunes will depend on the ability of Baljit Singh Dhillon to find the target during the penalty corner drills, in the absence of Ramandeep Singh who got married recently. If Dhillon flicks successfully, it will not be difficult for Punjab to see off the challenge from Chandigarh, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

In Group D, the race for the lone spot should be between defending champion Indian Airlines and the well-knit Services. With two seasoned goalkeepers, Ashish Ballal and A.B. Subbaiah, in its fold, and with Mukesh Kumar pulling on up front, Airlines is as good a team as any other. Border Security Force (BSF) has not been that good of late, and the host Jammu and Kashmir may have to rest content in having crossed the first stage for the first time in history.

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Section  : Sport
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