| Indian hockey’s Jason Bourne?
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Chennai
September 1, 2007
By Sundeep Misra
Joaquim Carvalho doesn’t hold an ordinary job. In fact, one wouldn’t be too far off in saying that he is a man who has taken on a mission to rescue Indian hockey from the depths of ordinariness that it has plunged into. Joaquim Carvalho in a way is Jason Bourne; Robert Ludlum’s legendary hero/secret service agent. Of course, there is nothing secretive about what Joaquim does in resurrecting Indian hockey, leave alone a few well-concealed penalty corner variations.
Friday night would have worried him as a coach; a defence that showed the courage to walk up into midfield territory, a midfield that almost assumed the role of attackers and the ‘worrying’ part, the forwards who were just not willing to play their role – striking goals.
Later after the press conference, speaking to a television channel, Joaquim said, “They were too defensive and the forwards couldn’t get the space to work the ball.”
One could understand a 7-man Chinese wall defending against seven of India, lack of space hampering the perfect ball movement. But when space did open up in the second half, the Indians were still found wanting. The Chinese on the other hand looked more threatening on the counter and with a 3-man attack utilized space better. If they had the skill, the Indians would have been in for a rude shock. What was more worrying was that the left flank under Prabhjot Singh was nothing short of a mirage! Even if the attacks were from the right and that’s where the Chinese concentrated, Prabhjot’s expertise and guile, honed over the years, should have ensured that the un-manned left flank did the magical turn while China looked the other way. At the press conference, Joaquim said, “Our right flank is strong and that’s what the Chinese concentrated on.” Over the last 12 matches, this was the closest that Joaquim has come to admitting that the left flank is the weakest link.
So then why persist with Prabhjot? Even in Boom, the left hardly moved but Prabhjot had the opportunity to slam in a few goals. But at the moment, if India needs to look towards 2010 and even the Olympic Qualifiers, Joaquim needs full-blooded flankers who have the speed and the guile to create goal-bound moves. Maybe Deepak Thakur would be an option. Joaquim needs to take a few risks. And somewhere solve problems with players who have been left out. One admits that a coach has the sole authority to choose a team and select those who fall into the system he wants but you cannot hold onto failures knowing it could jeopardize your chances for Beijing.
Winning the opening match of the tournament for the first time in three tournaments since starting as coach would have lessened the pressure on Joaquim but sterner tests lie in not only evaluating opponents but also choosing the right team. A key member chosen wrongly could destroy any Beijing aspirations. Worse, for Joaquim Carvalho aka Jason Bourne, there will not be any Mission Beijing 2008.
Archive : Relief! India secure opening win
Asia Cup — a peep into the past
| Schedule |
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Final Standings :
1. India
2. S Korea
3. Malaysia
4. Japan
5. China
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Hong Kong
9. Sri Lanka
10. Singapore
11. Thailand
Sunday's Matches  |
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| TEAM A | TEAM B | Playoff | TIME | RESULT | |||
| S Lanka | SPore | 9/10 | 08:00 | 6-0 | |||
| Ban | HKG | 7/8 | 07:00 | 3-1 | |||
| China | Pak | 5/6 | 09:30 | 3-2 | |||
| Malaysia | Japan | 3/4 | 16:00 | 5-3 | |||
| India | S Korea | 1/2 | 18:30 | 7-2 | |||
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Saturday's Matches |
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| TEAM A | v | TEAM B | TIME | RESULT | |||
| Singapore | v | Thailand | 08:00 | 4-0 | |||
| Pak | v | Ban | 07:00 | 10-0 | |||
| China | v | HongKong | 09:30 | 6-1 | |||
| S Korea | v | Malaysia | 17:00 | 2-1 | |||
| India | v | Japan | 19:30 | 4-1 | |||
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SCORE TABLE |
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| POOL A | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Malaysia SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 10 | |
| Japan SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 9 | |
| Pakistan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 7 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 3 | |
| Singapore | 4 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 | ||
| POOL B | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| India SF | 5 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 15 | ||
| S Korea SF | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 8 | 10 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 6 | |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 3 | |
| Thailand | 5 | 5 | 1 | 67 | 0 | ||
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 A team should be ready to play anyone. Of course, more |
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