Sport - Hockey

India takes on Malaysia today

By S. Thyagarajan

Adelaide May 31. It may look odd to give the teams a rest on day two of a competition but the prospect of leaving an evening fare-free on a week-end for the hockey enthusiast here obviously weighed with the South Australian Hockey Association hosting the leg one of the four-nation tournament in the sylvan settings of the Pines Stadium.

For the teams too, the off day provides enough time to introspect and initiate steps to overcome the maladies noticed on the opening day. At least two teams, India and Malaysia, must be doing that on Friday, and to say that Australia and South Korea are also not on that job will be absurd.

The second-half humiliation for the Indians against the Aussies after such a splendid opening phase must be worrying. The factors contributing to such a pass were discussed in detail by the team management at a quiet dinner hosted by an Indian restaurant after the match on Friday.

Everyone was alive to the fact that the margin hardly mirrored the manner in which the team resisted the Aussies from taking control in the first half. Goalkeeper Davesh Chauhan brought off some spectacular saves, even receiving a painful blow on the right shoulder in a short corner exercise. The deep defence, headed by Dilip Tirkey and manned well by Dinesh Nayak, could hardly be faulted as also the mid-field, which kept up the tempo right through. Veteran Gill, and the youngsters — Ignace Tirkey, Bimal Lakra, Vikram Pillay and Viren Resquinha — showed a touch of efficiency.

Appalling, however, was the frontline work. Minus a stray move here and there, very little harmony was visible in the attack. Unless an element of co-ordination is put in place, scoring will remain a huge problem for coach Rajinder Singh. There was too much focus on Deepak Thakur, who, anyway, was well marked. Regretfully, he is not in form at all after the junior World Cup. It is time he proved his calibre in this league. The same goes for Gagan Ajit Singh.

Consistency was conspicuous by its absence on the wing, and this probably resulted in the coach's effort to venture into framing too many variations and formations. A Dhanraj Pillay or a Baljit Dhillon could have made all the difference in forking out penalty corners. Even the handful that surfaced were not well taken, Jugraj's drag flicks notwithstanding.

India takes on Malaysia on Saturday afternoon. Given the poor showing against Malaysia in recent times, predicting how the match will go will be hazardous. Malaysia, no doubt, looked unsettled on Thursday, but Paul Lissek is too crafty a coach to leave things adrift, especially after watching the Indians at play against the Aussies.

The Malaysian fulcrum rests on the gangling Kuhen Shanmuganathan and in the deflections by Chairl Anwar or Keevan Raj. To say a close contest is in the offing will not be too much off the mark.

No complacency in Aussie camp

Quite predictably, the Aussie coach, Barry Dancer, is happy at the way things turned out in the second, and also by the excellent game upfront by Craig Victory. Also, satisfying was the cool competence displayed by new goalkeeper Stephen Lambert and Andrew Smith. The Aussies have a tough match against the Koreans, and are not likely to rest on their oars consequent to the splendid win over India. Incidentally, the Aussies won 4-2 against the Koreans in the World Cup at Kuala Lumpur.

It looks as though the Aussies will remain unchallenged in the twin tournaments. But Dancer's concern does lie in them. His goal is the Commonwealth Games gold in Manchester and the cup at the Champions Trophy in Cologne. If the weather remains warm and sunny, then the fans of the Aussie team in Adelaide have something to look forward to.

Saturday's matches: Australia v South Korea (9 a.m. IST), India v Malaysia (11 a.m.).

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Athletics

• Inter-State meet from today
  
  Cricket
  
• Confident India takes on determined West Indies
• Trescothick slams century
  
  Football
  
• Diop's strike sinks France
• Germany cast in unfamiliar role
• Players to be fined for red and yellow cards
• Referees will make or break World Cup: Pele
  
  Hockey
  
• India takes on Malaysia today
  
  Racing : Motor
  
• Court permits MAI to hold car rallies
  
  Sports : General
  
• Subhash Gupte is no more
• Kapil appointed Sony's brand ambassador
  
  Tennis
  
• Sheethal at her crafty best
• Clijsters' campaign curtailed
  
  

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu