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Those who have followed the trajectory of Indian hockey in the past one year will know that India stand no realistic chance of a medal the London Olympics, though if they do that, it will come as no surprise, either. For, India’s bronze-medal victory in the recent Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in Malaysia, at the cost of a better-ranked England, holds out some hope of the team putting up a competitive display in the London Olympics. India’s qualification for the Olympics, by walloping France 8-1 in the title clash of the Olympic Qualifiers played in Delhi in February, was celebrated with much fanfare. It was, indeed, something to be cherished, especially as India had failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics four years earlier. And this had happened for the first time in the history of Olympic hockey competition. Whether India win a medal or not, the performance of the present team will determine the course the game will take in the country. Hockey India has selected the best-possible team. There was, however, some debate about selecting a captain like Bharat Chetri (goalkeeper), who is not even sure of a place in the playing eleven. Most of the selectors feel that young goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh is more suited to keep the goal in crucial matches. Sardar Singh’s
(vice-captain) claim to captainship was also overlooked. Sardar Singh
is a live wire in the midfield. His indispensable role and talent
ensures him a definite slot in the first eleven in all matches. He
should have been made the captain, but chief coach Michael Nobbs
apparently rooted for Chetri, and his experience. And the
powers-that-be could not overlook the views of the former Australian
international, who has brought about a dramatic change in fortunes of
the Indian team in the past one year.
Similarly, forward Shivendra Singh’s fitness was under a cloud during the selection trials held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on June 6 and 7. But he got the nod ahead of a fit Sarvanjit Singh, because the chief coach wanted him. But to be fair to Hockey India, it will take Sarvanjit and Kothajit Singh at its own cost to London as a replacement if a key player gets injured. It is because only 16 players will be allowed to stay in the Olympic Village. With the return of the experienced Ignace Tirkey in the defence, and Gurwinder Singh Chandi in the forward line, the London-bound team is a fine blend of youth and experience, though it still has to iron out many grey areas. When Nobbs took charge of the national team over a year ago, he was not even sure of India qualifying for the London Olympics. But he has worked hard on the team and now the backers of Indian hockey even fancy chances of a medal in London. Nobbs’ emphass has been on an attacking playing style, and the recent results fortify the belief that India can win matches by playing an aggressive game, instead of adopting a defensive approach. But even with two outstanding exponents of drag-flicks like Sandeep Singh and V.R. Raghunath in its ranks, India have been missing too many scoring chances, as was evident during the Azlan Shah Cup. And unless they learn to convert their scoring chances into goals, India will find the going tough against better-ranked, better-skilled and better-equipped teams like Germany, Australia, Spain, Holland etc. The Indian defence has much tightening up to do, as the present porous condition in the deep defence, will be an open invitation for better teams to score soft goals. Nobbs and his team have been consistently working on it for London Olympics will be different ballgame.
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