Harpal Singh Bedi / Bhubaneswar
Indian hockey is at cross road. The former powerhouse in the sport for decades have lived in the shadow of their glorious past, now get a chance to redeem themselves as they commence their campaign in the 14th Hockey World Cup against South Africa at the Kalinga Stadium, in the capital of Odisha on Wednesday.
It has been 43 years since India won their only World cup title and it is 38 years ago when the country won a Olympic title at Moscow-though it was depleted competition with major hockey powers boycotting it. Also, the blue shirts have never won the Commonwealth Games or Champions trophy-the last edition of which was played this year-, though they finished second twice.
"The crowds of Bhubaneswar would be the Indian Hockey Team's strength and the players must not take their eyes off the ball if they want to outperform their opponents", says @HarendraSingh66.#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey pic.twitter.com/Cyrr4PLryv
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 27, 2018
The Harendra Singh coached team also failed to retain the Asian Games title in August. A title win there would have given them a direct entry in to 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Since 2010, India has hosted several major tournament-World Cup in Delhi, Champions Trophy, three world league finals and two Junior World Cups and but for title victory in 2016 Junior World cup, the hosts failed to win any other tournaments.
Under this scenario Indians will take the field against 15th ranked South Africa in their opener. The two teams have played each other 42 times with India emerging winner 25 times, losing eight while other matches ended in a draw.
The Proteas playing for the sixth time in the quadrennial event have never finished below the tenth place since making their debut at Sydney in 1994.
Hence on paper India start as favourites particularly with the months of rigorous training coupled with regular international outings. They will no doubt have the full-throat crowd support behind them, but they need to do nothing fancy and ensure that they not only get the three victory points and orchestrate their play plan to perfection.
They will also have to be careful not to become overconfident, the trait which led to their fall in the Jakarta Asian Games.The squad has a wealth of collective experience, but they have to be careful of the swift South African turnarounds.
The great team of 1975 who brought the World Cup home is now on the stage. #HWCOpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/ScncZIbmE9
— HeartBeatsForHockey (@HeartBts4Hockey) November 27, 2018
The Indian defence structure has been vulnerable and shaky against the big teams, but here Harmanpreet Singh, Kothajit, Amit Rohidas, Surinder Kumar and Birendra Lakra will be required to be astute with their marking.
Seasoned Manpreet Singh, the captain of the squad, will need to marshal the midfield resources along with Chinglensana Singh, Sumit Kumar, Nilkanta Sharma and Varun Kumar.
The forwards have to show consistency and their forays will require flair and fluency inside the rival twenty-three metre area and striking circle. Harmanpreet is now their best drag flicker and should end with a healthy conversion percentage.
Goalkeeper and former skipper Sreejesh have been among the best in the business for a while now and will be tested as and when South Africa make their breakthroughs or genuine threats from penalty corners taken by 33 year old Den Bosch player Austin Smith who is a calming presence in the heart of the South African defence.
The Indian attack will be spearheaded by Akashdeep Singh in tandem with the hugely talented Mandeep Singh, teenager Dilpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay.
On the other hand South Africans have nothing to lose. They are not being considered as serious contender and this under dog tag suits them well and makes them a dangerous side. The Indians lost to under dogs in the Asian Games and have to be weary about that.,