India’s loss to the Netherlands yesterday in the quarterfinal of the men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar would have disappointed all those who had wished to see the home team on a podium. However, former hockey stars concur that the hosts have performed commendably in the tournament, and are extremely excited about the potential of the young Indian team. They want this batch of youngsters to be persisted with in the coming years to get the desired results in big tournaments.
Coach Harendra Singh’s decision to go in with a predominantly young team, light on experience of big-ticket competitions is being appreciated.
“I am extremely hopeful and excited about the future of this team. This young team has done so well. It was a bold decision to blood them in a big ticket event. This was a very good performance, the final result notwithstanding,” said former Indian skipper M.M. Somaya to THE WEEK.
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On India's inability to break into the top three in world hockey, Somaya said, "It has taken India two and a half decades to become number five in the world. I feel we are beginning to get the kind of results that would help us get into the top three, like the silver in the Champions Trophy. Only Australia, Holland and Germany have consistently been among the top three teams in the world. The rest—England and Spain, and others—have been up and down.”
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Joaquim Carvalho, Somaya’s teammate and former coach of the Indian team, appreciated India’s performance at the World Cup. “They played very well against a top team like Holland. Except for a few mistakes, which I would put down to lack of experience, they put up a good fight.”
Another former Olympian, Jagbir Singh, described India’s overall outing at the World Cup as satisfying. “Luckily, we have a very good bunch of players who can deliver for us at the top level. How many teams have got that? This is a very promising batch of players. France's junior team of 2012-13 is now delivering for them in this World Cup. We must persist with them for the next 4-5 years.”
All experts concurred that had Amit Rohidas not got the yellow card in the quarterfinal, India would have pushed harder in the last quarter. “Even with 10 players, the boys came within the circle towards the end. But they were unable to finish I guess because they lost concentration,” Jagbir said. But as he pointed out, India can ill afford to repeat such mistakes in crucial matches. “Instead of raising such issues with umpires, the team should focus on the mistakes they made. We have been losing in big tournaments and crucial matches.”
Coach Singh had blasted the umpires after yesterday's quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands.
“They lost the ball possession at crucial moments in the match against Holland. Otherwise, they matched the Dutch team very well,” Carvalho said.
The forward line, in particular, has combined well to score goals. Dilpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Simranjeet Singh, Sumit and Mandeep Singh have created a flutter in opposition camps. “The youngsters have the ability to come right back and support the defence as well,” Somaya said. “They are not individualistic players but combine well. They do a lot for the team’s defence and play as a unit.”
Jagbir, too, was full of praise for the attackers. “They are super fit players, strength-wise and mentally strong, too. They are extremely strong inside the circle. It’s a very rare thing. We need these players to continue.”
He also spoke highly about defender Varun Kumar who showcased his finesse in aerial passes.
“You can take it from me in writing that this bunch of players will get us a medal in Tokyo 2020,” Jagbir said.
