The Hindu : Sport : Aiyappa does the star turn for India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 27, 2005

Sport

Sport

Aiyappa does the star turn for India

S. Thyagarajan

Kuala Lumpur: India scripted a dramatic victory and its hero was the much-neglected Len Aiyappa. Not only did Aiyappa show a return of confidence and self-belief — he made two goal-line saves — but also struck two impeccable penalty corners to give India a 2-1 verdict over South Africa in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament at Bukit Jalil on Thursday. That the match winner synchronised with the hooter accentuated the excitement all round.

For the new coaches, Rajinder Singh (jr) and Narenderpal Singh, it was a heartening start. "It is a good start for me," confessed Rajinder Singh (jr) after the match.

On the whole, however, the team's performance was not praiseworthy. The front line was neither imaginative nor incisive. Even the experienced Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh were below average. Deepak was guilty of missing a sitter with a flippant shot. Sandeep Michael was equally innocuous rendering the attack toothless. With the frontline not performing the pressure on the defence was heavy.

Relentless

The South Africans were relentless in their workouts. Prompted well by captain, Bruce

Jacobs, the sallies by Emille Smith and Craig Fulton stressed the Indians. Ignace Tirkey played better in the second half but the mid-field on the whole lacked consistency. In the deep defence,

Harpal Singh and Dilip Tirkey were compelled to work hard which they did with enthusiasm.

Aiyappa distinguished himself here too and helped goal-keeper Devesh Chauhan, who effected more than one save.

In the second half India was noticeably aggressive and earned its first penalty corner. Aiyappa's drag flick was smartly stopped by Chris Hibbert. But midway through, Aiyappa produced a grounder leaving the Hibbert helpless.

Short-lived

The lead was short-lived as South Africa levelled when Clyde Abrahams put in a rebound off Chauhan's pads. The trend then indicated a draw or even a win for South Africa, with the Indians showing signs of wearing down. More than once Dilip Tirkey resorted to long hits to relieve pressure. A casual shot by Michael in front of the goal added to the prevailing agony. But Aiyappa removed the gloom with a stunner of a flick to give India full points.

Meanwhile, Pakistan struggled without Sohail Abbas even though it too posted a 2-1 win, over New Zealand. Coach Tahir Zaman will be the first to admit that the team was listless and looked inhibited.

The Kiwis were distinctly unlucky in not bringing to fruition several moves. Energetic and enterprising, the Kiwis had a greater share of possession and rattled the unsettled Pakistan defence repeatedly. Nothing illustrates this better than the seven penalty corners won the Kiwis.

The saving grace for Pakistan was goal-keeper Salman Akbar's effective work, with two saves from David Kosoof deserving special mention. The New Zealand mid-field was the fulcrum and moves flowed from there, commanded efficiently by skipper Simon Towers and ably supported by Darren Smith.

Pakistan struck against the run of play when Adnan Zakir surprised goal-keeper Kyle Pontifax with a deflection from the edge of the goal-mouth. New Zealand restored parity when Geredth Brooks provided the finishing touches to a penalty corner push by Kosoof. Close on half-time Imran Warsi hit in a penalty corner that eventually proved to be the match winner.

Expected

Quite expectedly Australia, the Olympic and defending champion, had a spectacular start prevailing over the host Malaysia 3-1 after leading 3-0 at half-time. Travis Brooks struck twice followed by Rob Hammond. For Malaysia, Chua Boon Huat scored in the second half.

The results: India 2 (Len Aiyappa 2) bt South Africa 1 (Clyde Abrahams), Pakistan 2 (Adnan Zakir, Imran Warsi) bt New Zealand 1 (Geredth Brooks), Australia 3 (Travis Brooks 2, Rob Hammond) bt Malaysia 1 (Chua Boon Huat).

Friday's matches: India v New Zealand (1-35 p.m.); Australia v Korea (3-35 p.m.); Malaysia v South Africa (5-35 p.m.).

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