India get past China 1-0
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Chennai
August 31st, 2007
India 1 China 0
By Sundeep Misra
How quickly equations change in world hockey? A few years ago, what we
frivolously labeled as a minnow is now a real threat. It was quite apparent
after the final whistle blew on the India-Chennai match, as the Indians trooped
off, relieved that they had secured a 1-0 victory to open their campaign in the
Asia Cup.
China beat us at the Asian Games in Doha; the defeat ensuring that India for the
first time in Asian Games history would not enter the semi-finals. India then
beat them at the Azlan Shah tournament and today at Chennai was the team’s
second consecutive victory over China.
Of course, the die-hard hockey fans after witnessing the first half would say
that India dominated completely. Pacy runs down the flanks, midfield cutting
through the center, flicking it onto the sticks of the inside forwards; a
brilliant spectacle that couldn’t finish of the Chinese in the first fifteen
minutes of the match.
India virtually camped in the Chinese striking circle. The Chennai crowd,
cheering the constant flow of the Indian attacks, patiently waited for the wall
to break. But Kim Sang Ryul is no ordinary coach. No coach in the world knows
the Indians better than Kim. He knew it would be a blazing start and he needed
to hold on. Every move on the flank was taken care off by three defenders
standing one behind the other; each covering the other’s mistakes. The Indians
moved full steam ahead as the space opened up in the Chinese half. But the goals
still didn’t come.
Gurbaj had a few close shaves, tucking in the ball past the defenders to unleash
direct hits that deflected off Chinese sticks. Tushar Khandekar, Rajpal Singh,
an overlapping Bimal Lakra and Ignace Tirkey enjoyed territorial advantage but
yet no goals happened.
The crowd was restless. China, meanwhile, looked for breaks. They almost had one
in the middle of the first half but Baljit Singh saved the situation with a neat
tackle.
Raghunath was misfiring as the Chinese ran in faster than his flick.
On the fifth penalty corner, a lovely variation saw Sardara hit a fiery shot
that deflected off a stick and rolled free for Tushar to strike home. The ball
hit a defenders leg and the Dutch umpire Michiel Brunning pointed for a penalty
stroke. The Chinese protested that the shot hit the defenders stick. Brunning
consulted the second umpire Ghanian Richmond Attipoe and asked the teams to
bully off outside the Chinese circle. Even if Brunning thought that the other
umpire, 25 mts away could see it, he should have first consulted him and not
after the Chinese had protested!
The second half was tentative as both the teams settled in for some midfield
tussle. A few stray attacks from both the sides set the tempo. China came close
but the forwards were not reaching the ball in time.
In the middle of this, a stray attack in the 48th minute resulted in India’s
sixth penalty corner. Raghunath swiped the stick over the ball, selling a dummy,
while Dilip’s hard hit deflected into goal for India’s opening goal and
ultimately the match-winner.
It was a day when the Indian midfield dominated but sadly the forwards destroyed
much of the hard work. India’s penalty corner woes continue and the fact remains
that till we solve this problem our consistency levels would remain shaky.
It would be better if the team doesn’t keep a chart of the match and its
statistics. A look at 16 striking circle penetrations with just one goal to show
for all that hard work would plunge most teams into serious introspection.
India now plays Sri Lanka on Saturday and would be looking to earn six points
from two matches.
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