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Work in progress
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We’ll return with a medal, says Sardar
Gold from Glasgow? You must be dreaming!
From the ground
Bhuvi blows off England top
Slipping catches
Gritty Mathews keeps SA at bay
Round disrupted by cameras: Woods
McIlroy in control at British Open
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Work in progress
days to go
nuts & bolts
Men
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Matter of fact The Australian men’s team have won every hockey gold medal since the first competition in Malaysia in 1998. | Across all disciplines, Australia lead the way with 803 gold medals. They are the only nation with more than 2000 medals in the CWG.
Chandigarh, july 18 In the final, the euphoria and the hope evaporated fast. The speedy and skilful Australians, their moves perfectly coordinated, didn’t let India settle down. They led 4-0 at half-time, and finished 8-0 at the end. Australia are still dominant; India are still developing. Gold is not a realistic option for us. In this hectic year, with three major tournaments lined up back-to-back, the Commonwealth Games don’t top the priority list of the chief coach of the team. Ever since he joined in October last year, Walsh has made it clear that his main target for this year was to win the gold medal in the Asian Games, which would gain India an automatic entry into the 2016 Olympics. Asian Games are the most important of the short-term goals, also the most realistic; by that time, Walsh’s new and young team would have gained the experience of the CWG and the World Cup. A gold at the Asian Games would also help Walsh, who talks about bringing a lasting change in Indian hockey, in formulating long-term goals. Throughout this year, ever since he figured out the state of Indian hockey, Walsh has been saying that the team has a long way to go before it can step into the big league. The progress, he has said, would be slow. Walsh has talked about systemic change throughout India, starting from the grassroots level, which has to be brought by Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India with the help of the Union and State governments; he’s also been talking about the national team going through a transition phase. A hint of progress
Walsh had only about eight months to prepare a team for these tournaments. He didn’t have a large pool of players to work with. And with most of the senior players being past their prime, he had to build a team with young and inexperienced players. That is why India’s performances this year have to be seen in perspective. Rather than looking at only the results, we have to see if the team is improving. “The outcome was not what we had hoped for but we are in a transition phase and it will take some time to witness a spike in our performance,” Roelant Oltmans, the high performance director, recently said at Hockey India’s 10-member committee meeting to evaluate the performance at the World Cup. The spike Oltmans talked about might take a long time to come – or, in the worst case scenario, it might never come – but a hint of progress was seen at the World Cup, despite India’s poor finish. India were outplayed by only two teams – Australia and Belgium. Against the other two higher-ranked teams, India lost 1-2 to England and drew 1-1 with Spain. In both the matches India could have easily won, but their lack of experience let them down. India played well as a unit – they were structurally better organised. What they lacked was the edge upfront, due to an inexperienced forward line, and an outstanding performance from any one player. Despite the heartbreaking losses against Belgium and England in the first two games, the team stuck to its gameplan and ended the tournament on a high, beating Asian rivals Malaysia and then South Korea to finish ninth. Rematch prospects
Now in the CWG, it would be impractical to expect a gold medal from India. But it will be a great tournament to gauge the team’s improvement. “The key objective at the CWG will be to play world-class hockey in every match. There are no benchmarks for the team and for me performing well and rising to the occasion are more important. We have worked on almost all areas of the game and are looking to finish in the top 2. I feel the team should grow everyday to be able to compete better,” said Walsh. An interesting prospect will be the rematches. India will play Australia in the pool stage. The world champions beat India 4-0 in the World Cup. In that match the Indians wilted under the initial pressure from the Aussies. In the Glasgow rematch, it will be interesting to see how the Indians will cope with an Australian side that will be without Ric Charlesworth as their coach. If India reach the semifinals, there are chances of them playing England or Malaysia. To beat England, India will have to get over the last-minute blunder that led to the defeat last month and bring to this game all the positives they showed in that loss. And a second win over Malaysia in two months will only strengthen their confidence going into the Asian Games. Medal hope
This tournament should be considered as a part of a journey and not as the final destination; having said that, the Indian team has a very good chance of winning a medal in Glasgow. Their strongest opponents in the pool (which also has Wales and Scotland) other than Australia are South Africa. In the last meeting between the two, in a warm-up game ahead of the World Cup, India won 4-1. In the semifinals, the other big threat will be New Zealand, whom India have not played since the World League Final in January, when the Kiwis won 3-1. For the Indian team, one win in the knockout stages is all it will take to win a medal. No Pakistan
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We’ll return with a medal, says Sardar
New Delhi, July 18 India may have finished a lowly ninth at the World Cup, but Hockey India continued to repose faith in Sardar, retaining him as captain of the team for the Glasgow Games. Sardar would be up against another challenge as captain at the Games — the challenge of guiding a side that has a mix of youth and experience to a top-two finish. With the team showing signs of improvement, Sardar is optimistic of putting up a good show when they take the field at the new Glasgow National Hockey Centre. “We are looking to put up a strong fight and come back home with a medal. We have worked hard on our weaknesses such as penalty corner conversion and conceding last-minute goals after our return from the World Cup. I am confident that we won’t repeat these mistakes at the CWG,” Sardar said. “Making the final of the CWG is a realistic target. Right now, we are focusing on our first match (against Wales). The team is fit and ready to give its best,” he added. Sardar said the inclusion of Danish Mujtaba and Gurwinder Chandi, who returned to the side after injury layoffs, has strengthened the attack. Sardar reckoned that it’s important for them to return with a medal so that the sport doesn’t fade away. “It’s true that we haven’t won medals recently in the international competitions. We also feel that we need to perform so as to keep their (hockey fans’) faith in us. We will come back with a medal,” he said. |
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Gold from Glasgow? You must be dreaming!
New Delhi, July 18 The team would look to better its silver medal finish in the last edition in Delhi but, for a team notorious for conceding last-minute goals and cracking under pressure while taking penalty corners, it would be an uphill task to close out matches. Chief Coach Terry Walsh has been working hard with the team to develop it into a world class unit. The Tribune caught up with him to know about the “developmental process”. Excerpts: The coaching staff and the team copped a lot of criticism after the World Cup. There must be tremendous pressure on you to deliver at the CWG. Everybody in India wants us to win a medal at the CWG. Players are certainly feeling the pressure of expectation. For me, though, the important part is to play effective and challenging hockey. I would be very proud if the team can play as a unit and learn from its past mistakes. Will a gold at the CWG will make your critics go easy on you? If you are thinking of getting a gold medal at Glasgow, then probably you are dreaming. There’s no substance to it. I am not unkind but that’s the reality which one should accept. I have reasons to believe so because, first of all, Australia are the No. 1 team and they cleaned up every opponent with four-five goals in the World Cup. Then you have England and New Zealand. The hockey fans need to understand that the Indian hockey is in a transition phase. You can’t produce results overnight. What then are we trying to achieve at this CWG? We are trying to achieve overall improvement. We have to get better at our penalty corner conversion and the habit of conceding last-minute goals. We should be in a position where we can get to the top two in our pool. After that, it would be a new ball game in the knockout stage. Is CWG part of your preparation for the much tougher Asian Games? Yes, it is. Asian Games is a significant part of our Olympic campaign. It will act as a direct qualification process if we win gold there. Our target is the Asian Games, but CWG is equally important to us. How long will it take to build a world-class team? The process has already started and it will take five years to take this team where we all want to see it. You have to understand the process because there’s no easy way to improve Indian hockey. I don’t have a magic wand to get India to the podium finish. Most people in India judge you by the outcome. They don’t look at the whole process behind building a successful team. Will you get that much time? If you want to build a team, you need to give us time. Having said that, I also believe that no one deserves a run for five years without a proper review of his/her performance. If you want to build a team, you need to start grooming the talent from the age of 14 years so that when a player comes into the team, he is ready to take on the opponents. That’s missing in India where they are not part of the national programme. Identification of talent at a younger age should be the plan.
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Saina pulls out
India’s hopes of fetching five badminton medals at the Commonwealth Games suffered a massive jolt on Friday as ace shuttler and defending champion Saina Nehwal pulled out of the Glasgow event after failing to recover from leg blisters sustained during the Australian Open Super Series triumph last month. “It is an extremely difficult decision but an important one,” said Saina. “I had suffered a groin injury during the first round in Australia and then there were those blisters on my leg but I still won the title. After I came back I had two and a half weeks but I took one week to recover, so hardly got a week to train. So, I decided to pull out. It’s heartbreaking for me as well,” she said. The Olympic bronze medallist, who is believed to be suffering from a knee injury as well, said she had to take the decision of withdrawing from the Glasgow Games in order to get fit for the rest of the season. — PTI
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Bhuvi blows off England top
London, July 18 Kumar exploited the seaming conditions to return figures of 4/46 and leave England struggling at 219 for six at close of play on an absorbing second day, still trailing by 76 runs. Ballance struck his second century in four matches to help rescue England on a Lord's wicket that appeared to have eased out a little. He scored 110 runs (203 balls, 15 fours) to help lift his side from 113/4. Matt Prior (2) and Liam Plunkett (4) were at the crease at stumps, while Ravindra Jadeja (1-41) and Murali Vijay (1-12) were the other wicket-takers. Ishant Sharma (0-32) and Mohammad Shami (0-33) bowled well on a hot and humid day, but weren't rewarded for their efforts. India had heaped up pressure on England and reduced them to 125/4 at tea, from where Ballance and Moeen Ali began in the last session. They put on 98 runs for the fifth wicket and tested the patience of the Indian bowlers. To their credit, the visitors didn't lose their focus and continued to bowl probing lines even as the green-top pitch eased out. The medium pacers held tight lines and didn't allow easy runs. With the older ball getting soft, skipper MS Dhoni cleverly used Jadeja as well as Vijay. The batsmen too utilised the conditions well, bringing up their 50-run partnership in the 65th over of the innings. Ballance then went on to get a well-deserved second Test hundred at Lord’s. His first century at this ground came against Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. He fully utilised the life given to him by Dhoni who let go an edge induced by Stuart Binny (0-45) in the 40th over. Ballance had been on 32 at that time. With two overs to go for the new ball, Ali finally got out, trapped LBW by Vijay (his maiden Test wicket). Plunkett was sent in as night-watchman but the ploy failed when Ballance was dismissed by Kumar in the 83rd over, caught behind by Dhoni. — PTI
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Slipping catches
London, July 18 On Day 2, Indian bowlers toiled hard, bowling relentless lines on a scorching day, wayward slip catching let England off the hook. While the drop of Sam Robson didn’t hurt India, the reprieve given to Garry Ballance, when he was on 32, could prove decisive. Since the retirement of Dravid and Laxman, India are yet to find a settled combination in the slips. Players tried include Pujara, Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Rahane, Jadeja, Murali Vijay and Dhawan. Pujara was among the first ones tried, as he had dodgy knees and was a liability in the field. But after a couple of Tests in the defeat of England, that included an important drop of Cook, he was marched away. Ian Chappell recently said Kohli is not a natural, because he rises too early and his hands are not soft enough. Before play starts, fielding coach Trevor Penny works constantly on Kohli’s catching. As Kohli squats down, Penny places a bat over his head and only removes it when he feels Kohli should be coming up. But on most occasions Kohli still has not been able to get his timing right, suggesting he is still a work in progress. Right from the start, Rahane has fielded at gully for Mumbai. He’s comfortable there and is yet to find his feet in the slips. Slips fielding isn’t about athleticism, it’s about soft hands and relentless practice. It also requires great powers of concentration — hence it was mastered by the likes of Dravid and Laxman. |
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Sri lanka v SA
Galle, July 18 Mathews scored a defiant 89 off 182 balls before, while attempting to shield the tail, he went for a slog sweep off Imran Tahir and was bowled. Mathews and Rangana Herath shared an eighth- wicket partnership of 71 off 117 balls that saved Sri Lanka after Steyn had reduced them to 201-7 replying to South Africa's first innings of 455-9 declared.Sri Lanka trailed South Africa by 172 runs. Brief scores: SA: 455-9 dec v Sri Lanka: 283-9 (Mathews 89; Steyn 5-50). — Reuters
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Round disrupted by cameras: Woods
Hoylake, July 18 If nothing else, his back must really be better. What made him stop and then back off on the next shot were clicks from cameras. The culprits appeared to be a few journalists using cellphones, and the second time Woods indicated toward the balcony of a corporate tent where two dozen people had phones out. "There was a lot of cameras out there," Woods said. "We were backing off a lot of shots, and a lot of people moving around. It was tough." The Royal and Ancient later put out a statement urging spectators to keep their phones on silent and reminded them that photos are not allowed during the tournament. — PTI
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McIlroy in control at British Open
Hoylake, July 18 Northern Irishman McIlroy, the overnight leader, stumbled to a bogey on the first hole but was then a model of control as he picked up seven shots to lead on 12-under after the second round. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods ended a scrappy second round by picking up his first birdie of the day at the 18th to ensure he qualified for the weekend. The 14-times major champion dropped three strokes at the opening two holes before slumping to a triple-bogey seven at the 17th. Woods then produced a delicate chip over a greenside bunker at the last hole and calmly rolled in a seven-foot putt to complete a five-over-par round of 77 and a total of 146, two over. — Reuters Lahiri misses cut The lure of walking the 18th fairway once again and seeing the Indian flag fluttering kept him going before an ailing Anirban Lahiri bowed out with a second straight three-over 75. The 27-year-old had been suffering from fever since Monday evening. "If it were any other tournament, I may have pulled out,” he said. Under tough conditions, Lahiri dropped three bogeys and one double bogey but managed to sink two birdies.
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Four years ago, on a balmy
October evening in New Delhi, the fabric of Indian hockey was ripped apart. India faced Australia in the final of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. There was excitement, hope in the stands — India had, after all, beaten England via a thrilling penalty shootout in the semifinal. The euphoria of this win had made people forget that just a week ago, in their group clash, Australia crushed India 5-2.
India’s hopes of fetching five badminton medals at the Commonwealth Games suffered a massive jolt on Friday as ace shuttler and defending champion Saina Nehwal pulled out of the Glasgow event after failing to recover from leg blisters sustained during the Australian Open Super Series triumph last month. “It is an extremely difficult decision but an important one,” said
Saina.
Indian fans eager to see their team take on arch-rivals Pakistan will be disappointed. After failing to qualify for the World Cup, Pakistan team will not play at the Games due to an internal sporting dispute. The Pakistan Olympic Association split into two factions last year, one recognised by the IOC and the other backed by the Pakistan Sports Board. The Pakistan Hockey Federation ignored the IOC-backed faction. PHF could not send expression of interest to the organising committee, despite having been granted extension twice.
Five days after World Cup win, German captain Lahm quits