India get past China 1-0

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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