The Hindu : Sport : Setback for India

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Friday, Jun 29, 2007
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Setback for India

S. Thyagarajan

Boom (Belgium): With a display that could best described as a mess up India managed to end up on the side of defeat against Argentina by the odd goal in three in the men’s hockey Champions Challenge here on a warm, sunny afternoon.

That it was a key contest to keep the team afloat to the final on Sunday seemed to have lost on the players. Imagine a team missing as many as a dozen penalty corners and making appalling mistakes. Yet, there were spells when it looked as though the team would walk out with a draw.

Incomprehensible

It is incomprehensible how India could get into such knots. At least in the first quarter, the team defended and handled a fairly high degree of pressure. The Indians warded off two penalty corners in this moiety and forced an equal number.

The plus point was the working of the mid-field where once again it was Bimal Lakra who kept the frontline moving. Neither Gurbaj nor Prabhodh Tirkey was consistent enough. This put an additional burden on the deep defence of Dilip Tirkey and William Xalco.

The frontline lacked vigour and combined work, though Roshan Minz caught the eye. Sardara Singh was below par as were Prabhjot Singh and Rajpal Singh. The combination of Bharat Chikara and Minz managed to build up noticeable pressure inside the circle.

India missed a chance when Shivendra drove out a nice pass from Roshan Minz, with only the goal-keeper to beat. In the second half an adroit pass from Chikara put Sardara Singh well in position, but the latter fumbled.

It is in converting penalty corners that India was deficient. Tirkey failed to pump in even one of the five he attempted. Even as one was puzzled by the long absence of Sandeep Singh, the trump card was put on the field after the break.

But all he could do was to force Fernando Zylberberg to come in the way and then convert the resultant stroke. Argentina played a tight game, especially in the mid-field, and Lombi boosted the morale with a perfect penalty corner immediately after the break.

Costly lapse

Thereafter, it was the Indians who held the stage until a costly lapse in the defence allowed Mario Almada sneak in and find the target.

With 10 minutes to for the hooter, the Indians went on a desperate attacking spree. When Sandeep netted the stroke India had seven minutes left for the equaliser. The forwards were in and out of the circle, heightening the excitement even as the Argentine skipper Mario Almada got his second yellow card.

But the margin remained unaltered. With nine points in four matches, Argentina is better placed now for the final than India, which has six.

The results: England 4 (Richard Mantell, Richard Alexander, Jhonty Clarke, Rob Moore) bt Japan 3 (Takahiko Yamabori).

Argentina 2 (Jorge Lombi, Mario Almada) bt India 1 (Sandeep Singh).

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