Lessons to be Learnt by Indian Hockey Team
Indians not only failed to convert penalty corners but their frailties in defence were also exposed in the Hockey World League semi-final tournament. India conceded quite a few soft goals leaving a lot of opposition players inside the D unmarked.
The Indian Hockey team finished 4th in the Hockey World League semi-final tournament in Belgium, missing out on a podium finish. The performance of Sardar Singh and company against higher ranked teams like Australia, Belgium and England was disastrous. India conceded 15 goals and scored only 3 against the big 3 teams. The Indian team was found wanting in many departments. They struggled to score goals and also conceded quite a few soft goals which resulted in defeats by big margins.
Looking at India's below average performance the task is cut out for coach Paul Van Ass and if there is one area the teams needs to quickly turn things around in, it's the penalty corner department. In the Hockey World League semis the Indian drag-flickers managed to convert only 5 penalty corners out of 20 that went their way. The injury to ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh didn't help India's cause, as the star player missed 5 out of the 7 matches in the tournament. (Indian team needs to organise defence better: Sardar Singh)
"Well 5 out of 20 is 1 out of 4 that is too low, it is 25% and you should be in 33. So, it is very simple." said High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans on India's poor conversion rate in penalty corners.
The Indian team not only failed to convert penalty corners but their frailties in defence were also exposed in the tournament as they conceded quite a few soft goals leaving many opposition players inside the D unmarked. But despite the loop-holes in defence, High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans defended India's defenders.
"Well it is always simple to call only about defence because for me defence is a team effort. It starts with the strikers, your mid-fielders and your defenders as well." said Roelant Oltmans.
The Challenge for India's coach Van Ass will be to work on both the defence and penalties so that the players concede less and score more.
"We will have to work on our defence and the most important thing is that we will have to score goals and I think the team will have to work a lot in these things." said India's defender Rupinder Pal Singh.
With the Rio Olympics just a year away, Sardar Singh and company will have to quickly iron out their flaws or their dream of winning a medal at the Olympics will not turn into reality.