The Hindu : Sport : India avenges Asian Games defeat

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Monday, May 07, 2007
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India avenges Asian Games defeat

S. Thyagarajan

GOAL! Raghunath celebrates after scoring the second goal against China. — Photo: AFP

Ipoh: Eventful. No other epithet will be appropriate enough to convey the action and drama which witnessed India wiping the stain of the Asian Games defeat against China at Doha, Argentina bemusing Olympic champion Australia, and Malaysia, the host, hovering on the throes to a semifinal berth in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament on Sunday.

Emotional was the fragrance of victory for India against China's pugnacious bunch. The 5-4 outcome proves what a pulsating contest it was. Shocked by the third minute penalty corner set-piece brilliantly executed by the Chinese, India made a gallant recovery to lead 3-2 at half-time.

A touch of vibrancy was transparent. If Bharath Chikkara caught the eye most, the fluent runs of Roshan Minz put the rival defence at full stretch. The seasoned Prabhjot Singh and Rajpal Singh accentuated the power of the attack.

Hard working mid-field

Prompted by a hard working mid-field where skipper Prabodh Tirkey was noticeable more, the forwards managed to weave several intricate patterns. Sardara Singh too contributed his mite to keep the pace at an even keel.

Prabjot Singh's equaliser was a classic effort after Yu Yang slotted the early goal. Then Raghunath produced an impeccable drag flick for the lead, which was neutralised by another neatly executed set piece by China. Yi Song took credit for it.

Close on half-time, a quick move by Roshan Minz caught the rival defence off-guard. The shot by Prabhjot was saved by goalkeeper Rifeng. From the rebound, Shivendra made an attempt that hit a defender. Rajpal Singh converted the resultant penalty stroke without fuss.

China surged again with Hui Ren Hu converting the third penalty corner to level 3-3 but Raghunath essayed another perfect drag flick to hoist the lead. Raghunath's next penalty corner hit brought another stroke when Shivendra was blocked by Rifeng. Bimal Lakra slotted the fifth goal.

Yellow card

China never allowed itself to be dominated. Six minutes before the close, a yellow card for Raghunath weakened the defence, which made far too many errors thanks to Harpal's brusque tackles. A combined move however ended with Yi Song finding the net, and bringing China close to a draw or even a win. But the Indians managed to hold on in the final minutes.

Chief coach Carvalho was quite pleased by the show, although he was a bit critical of the deep defence conceding the spate of penalty corners that kept the Chinese in the contest almost throughout.

Trust Argentina for the unexpected. The team did it, stunning a formidable opponent-Australia. The solitary goal that determined the outcome early in the second half from a penalty corner sequence from Rafael Rossi constituted an upset of the first magnitude.

Heat factor

Examined on the standpoint of technical excellence, neither team — surprisingly the Aussies — fulfilled the virtues of hockey's nuances. The heat may be the factor for both.

The contest was devoid of action. The Aussies visibly laboured to put across a few passes. Everything went haywire. All the good work of Rob Hammond, who took the place of veteran Brent Livermore, who was not fielded for the match, went waste. The initial verve, which Russel Ford and Grant Schubert showed, petered as the contest progressed. Australia's penalty corner executions were dreadful, even granting the goalkeeper Mariano Rudolfos' intrepid saves.

The moment for Argentina surfaced early in the second half from its only penalty corner. As the ball rebounded off Steve McPherson's pads, Rossi trapped it and finished with palpable relish. Try as the Aussies did to come back into the game — they secured five penalty corners in the second half of the six in the match — Argentina successfully prevented that from happening.

"It's a very important result for us" Sergio Vigil, the Argentina coach, observed. The Aussie coach, Colin Batch, reckoned it was a " better performance than the one against India," but admitted that the key members of the squad missed too many chances, "probably pressure from the defence." Australia takes on China on Wednesday.

Dramatic note

Malaysia ended its contest against Canada on a dramatic note converting a penalty corner (Md. Sharun) after the regulation time for a 2-0 win. Jiwa Mohan gave the lead early, but the home team waged a grim struggle to enlarge the lead. To be fair to the Canadians, it must be said, they fought tooth and nail, threatening to score any moment.

Goalkeeper Mike Mahood proved what experience means in tight situations. He smothered considerable amount of pressure from the seven penalty corners Malaysia forced. The Canadian frontline bristled with life whenever Gabbar Singh surged ahead leading the pack. It is a pity he went un-rewarded.

The results: Pool A: Argentina 1 (Rafael Rossi) beat Australia 0; India 5 (Prabhjot Singh, Raghunath 2, Rajpal Singh, Bimal Lakra) beat China 4 (Yu Yang, Yi Song 2, Huiren Hu). Pool B: Malaysia 2 (Jiwa Mohan, Md. Sharun) beat Canada 0.

Monday's matches: China v Argentina (3-35 p.m.); Korea v Pakistan (5-35 p.m.).

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