Sport - Hockey

Things are working well for India

By S. Thyagarajan

MELBOURNE JUNE 3. There were many smiling faces in the Indian camp and also amidst the supporters when the team left Adelaide last evening. The reason need not be stressed. Not only did India gain a victory showing exceptional resilience and a mode of recovery not often noticed by a combination in recent years but it also slotted goals in splendid formations. To say that the coach, Rajinder Singh is happy by the outcome but not entirely satisfied is only stressing the obvious. Rajinder feels the transformation of the players from one mode to the other is not being easy. He believes they had played a negative type of hockey for too long, and getting them back into his line of reckoning is proving to be a difficult task. But he is optimistic that things are working well, especially with the members who were with him in the junior squad for the World Cup at Hobart where the team triumphed for the first time since the inception of the championship in 1979 at Versailles.

But it is not easy to agree with the assumption of the chief coach. He may be right about the mind set, which was to avert defeat at any cost. But a defensive approach is not negative in its full range and scope. After all, in modern hockey it is essential to strengthen the defence first before focussing on attack. Notwithstanding the fact of being branded as a traditionalist who believes that the Asian system is the formula for all occasions, Rajinder Singh has put a lot of emphasis on mid-field solidity where Gill, Ignace, Bimal, Pillay and Viren put in a lot of effort. So, what Rajinder should remain focussed is to change the mindset than the methods in totality. It is only when the defence and mid-field, goalkeeper included, get integrated that the attack goes into a perfect shape.

An indepth study is being made in all these aspects even as the teams get ready for the second leg on Wednesday. This event will contain a final with the top two in the pool fighting it out for the benefit of the Sunday crowd here.

Meanwhile, a lot of discussion is on over the controversy generated by the Koreans who questioned the Kiwi umpire, O'Connor, repeatedly and staged a protest by staying put in their place, allowing an embarrassed Eglington to score a goal, for Australia. It is understood that the Technical officials had warned the skipper, Kang, and the team as a whole for any further breach on the field, especially aimed at the umpire. The incidents are viewed as a symptom of the increasing intolerance shown by the Koreans, whose women team walked out of the match against Australia in Tokyo last month.

It is time the FIH framed tough guidelines to the Technical Delegate as to arrest such incidents, even assuming that the umpire had palpably erred in certain situations.

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