New Delhi: One thing was absolutely clear in Hobart: the Hardik Singh-led India squad did not want a repeat of the home leg of the FIH Pro League.
Earlier this month in Rourkela, the Indian hockey team suffered four successive losses, two each against Argentina and table toppers Belgium, to begin their Pro League campaign on an extremely poor note. What made it worse was an 0-8 humiliation against Argentina—the joint worst defeat ever for India.
The Hobart leg of the elite nine-team tournament didn’t take off well either as India went down 0-2 to Spain at the Tasmania Hockey Centre, marking their fifth loss on the trot. But performances gradually improved.
India secured three successive draws against hosts Australia (2-2 and 1-1) and Spain (1-1). While they lost the first two penalty shootouts, they finally earned a shootout bonus in their final game against Australia on Wednesday.
While their intent was clear in Hobart, manifested by their improved tackling during man-to-man marking, they will really need to amp up their game in the forward line which could not score enough goals, especially in the final quarter.
After eight games, India have managed to score only nine goals, the lowest among all teams. Belgium leads the charts with 30. This contrasts with the 25 goals they have conceded. Of course, those numbers have a lot to do with what happened at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela but India’s forward line needs to better its conversion rate.
The sharpness, accuracy and passing were off the mark with their shots in the striking circle not reaching their desired end. When the forwards had the ball, most of the time they failed to convert their chances into penalty corners (PC) or shots on goal.
With the World Cup and Asian Games looming, chief coach Craig Fulton took an experimental squad to Hobart to prepare for more important tests ahead, resulting in trying out new or less experienced players in the forward line.
Selvam Karthi was tried out in Rourkela. Angad Bir Singh and Maninder Singh made their comeback to the team in Hobart. Araijeet Singh Hundal and Aditya Arjun Lalage gave Fulton enough belief to consider them for both legs.
But if India are to win matches in any event, these forwards have to score. Hero of the 2024 Paris Olympics Abhishek and seasoned campaigner Mandeep Singh have also failed to fire this Pro League campaign.
India also struggled in PCs. The absence of regular skipper and primary drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh — who has taken a break due to personal reasons — was clearly visible as India failed to convert their PC opportunities in Hobart. India converted only two of their 16 chances in Australia — a conversion rate of a mere 12.5%.
Also, India’s circle penetration number was lower than that of their opponents in all four games. When they did, they were unable to hold their nerve, squandering their chances while attempting an overambitious goal.
But there were positives too as what clearly stood out in Hobart in contrast to Rourkela was how the defence and midfield worked together. In the absence of former skipper Manpreet Singh, Rajinder Singh and Hardik Singh performed their roles really well. While the Rajinder took up the responsibility of attacking midfielder, the stand-in skipper stood up well against the onslaught of opposition strikers as a defensive midfielder.
Australia are one of those teams whose strikers can rip apart the defence of any top team, let alone India. However, the experience of Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit and Jugraj Singh shone through as the Indian defence allowed only six goals in four games despite 96 circle penetrations.
Upcoming goalkeeper Mohith Honnenahalli Shashikumar showed incredible spark, especially in the game against Australia, where a promising performance helped India win the shootout 3-1 and earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.
