09-29-2003, 06:10 AM
Another account of this thrilling match. I played about a year of hockey during my schooling. It is definitely a game of much skill and endurance.
[url="http://headlines.sify.com/2534news1.html?headline=Special:~Indians~win~the~Asia~Cup~in~style"]Special: Indians win the Asia Cup in style[/url]!
They said they would do it for Jugraj Singh and they did it in style!
Winning the hearts of all hockey lovers, Indian team won the Sultan Azlan Hockey Championship at Kuala Lumpur beating arch rivals Pakistan 4-2 in the final.
It was sweet revenge for India which lost the bronze medal to Pakistan in the recent Championâs Trophy at Holland despite beating them convincingly in the round robin rounds of the same tournament.
For far too long, Indian hockey has been on a downward curve and the cupboard has been bereft of any major trophies. But there now seems to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the Indians winning the Asian Crown for the first time ever today and in the process, qualifying for the World Cup Hockey Championship 2006.
Since they had lost the group match earlier, most people were worried that it might turn out as a familiar story of being so near and yet so far but that was not to be.
Played at a good pace through out the first half, the match looked like petering in to a tame affair in the second half until Indians brought alive the proceedings with two brilliant field goals in the dying stages of the match. The last two goals of the match proved to be the final nails in the Pakistani coffin leaving no chance of a recovery.
The first fifteen minutes of the match saw fortunes swinging like a pendulum gone wild. India moved ahead in the sixth minute through a penalty corner shot of Kanwalpreet Singh but Pakistan soon hit back through two pin point penalty corner conversions by the brilliant Sohail Abbas who obviously doesnât miss much.
Though Pakistan shot in lead, India dominated the mid field area continuously and the Pakistan defence was severely tested. The constant pressure made Pakistanis wilt against the attacking Gagan Ajit Singh who levelled the score 2-2 by sounding the boards in the fifteenth minute.
The second half got off to a dull start as both teams chose to play safe rather than attack but still the possession of the ball remained largely with India except for a couple of brave thrusts down the left flank by the Pakistani forwards.
With every thing at touch and go, the Indians suddenly upped their antennae and made frequent raids on the rival goal which finally saw the rookie Ignaes Tirkey shoot a solo goal on the run in the Sixty ninth minute to take India ahead by 3-2.
Everyone was at the edge of the seat as Pakistan made a valiant effort to get a look in at the Indian post but their forwards were neatly dispossessed. And as an icing on the cake, Prabhjyot Singh brought down the curtains by converting a lovely pass from Baljit Singh Dhillon with a deft touch to make it 4-2 in favour of India.
What was heartening to note through out the Asia Cup was that younger players like Ignaes Tirkey, Sandeep Michael made good of the chances provided to them. Most of the boys are, without any doubt, abundantly talented but it remained to be seen what the rookies could do and without a doubt, the skills of new entrants were a revelation!
Speed without stick work is like an empty cannon and creating opportunities in the mid-field is of prime importance for any team. Fortunately, both at Holland and at Malaysia, India displayed that it is gradually learning that only collective skills of players can bring about a cohesive finish. So despite heavy marking of Skipper Dhanraj Pillai and Gagan Ajit Singh, the other players rallied the ball around to create newer opportunities to score.
The forward line of Dhillon, Pillay, Thakur, Prabhjot shouldered the attack well but muffed up several penalty corners in the entire championship through poor co-ordination. No doubt the ailing Jugraj Singh, watching the match in his hospital bed in New Delhi, was sorely missed and is required by the team at the earliest.
India has at the moment some outstanding players who on their day can pulverize any defence in the world. Their movements are swift and have a lot of charm and grace written over them but they still need to do a lot of homework to see that their movements result in more goals and better finish.
A prime requirement of the modern era is that all players must be capable of playing in two different positions so as to switch positions in times of crisis. Our tackling has to be more aggressive and determined rather than timid and we must emphasise on improving our mid-field play so as to create greater goal scoring opportunities.
Hopefully, this victory will be part of an upswing curve that will take the Indian team to greater heights.
A strategy based on the 5-3-2-1 formation is best suited to attack and pulverising the opponent and it is time we adopted bolder and more aggressive measures to counter the game plan of international opponents. If we were to apply these fundamentals, I would stick my neck out and predict that this team has in it to be a world beater.
Though Rajendra Singh has kept abreast with the latest innovations in the game around the globe and has a nucleus of talented players, it is imperative that he realises that he has some fine uncut diamonds in his possession who need to be cut and polished to crowning glory.
India has adequate talent at its disposal to be a giant in the hockey arena but the Indian Hockey Federation has to do a lot of soul searching and hard work before this team can deliver what it promises with its immense potential.
[url="http://headlines.sify.com/2534news1.html?headline=Special:~Indians~win~the~Asia~Cup~in~style"]Special: Indians win the Asia Cup in style[/url]!
They said they would do it for Jugraj Singh and they did it in style!
Winning the hearts of all hockey lovers, Indian team won the Sultan Azlan Hockey Championship at Kuala Lumpur beating arch rivals Pakistan 4-2 in the final.
It was sweet revenge for India which lost the bronze medal to Pakistan in the recent Championâs Trophy at Holland despite beating them convincingly in the round robin rounds of the same tournament.
For far too long, Indian hockey has been on a downward curve and the cupboard has been bereft of any major trophies. But there now seems to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the Indians winning the Asian Crown for the first time ever today and in the process, qualifying for the World Cup Hockey Championship 2006.
Since they had lost the group match earlier, most people were worried that it might turn out as a familiar story of being so near and yet so far but that was not to be.
Played at a good pace through out the first half, the match looked like petering in to a tame affair in the second half until Indians brought alive the proceedings with two brilliant field goals in the dying stages of the match. The last two goals of the match proved to be the final nails in the Pakistani coffin leaving no chance of a recovery.
The first fifteen minutes of the match saw fortunes swinging like a pendulum gone wild. India moved ahead in the sixth minute through a penalty corner shot of Kanwalpreet Singh but Pakistan soon hit back through two pin point penalty corner conversions by the brilliant Sohail Abbas who obviously doesnât miss much.
Though Pakistan shot in lead, India dominated the mid field area continuously and the Pakistan defence was severely tested. The constant pressure made Pakistanis wilt against the attacking Gagan Ajit Singh who levelled the score 2-2 by sounding the boards in the fifteenth minute.
The second half got off to a dull start as both teams chose to play safe rather than attack but still the possession of the ball remained largely with India except for a couple of brave thrusts down the left flank by the Pakistani forwards.
With every thing at touch and go, the Indians suddenly upped their antennae and made frequent raids on the rival goal which finally saw the rookie Ignaes Tirkey shoot a solo goal on the run in the Sixty ninth minute to take India ahead by 3-2.
Everyone was at the edge of the seat as Pakistan made a valiant effort to get a look in at the Indian post but their forwards were neatly dispossessed. And as an icing on the cake, Prabhjyot Singh brought down the curtains by converting a lovely pass from Baljit Singh Dhillon with a deft touch to make it 4-2 in favour of India.
What was heartening to note through out the Asia Cup was that younger players like Ignaes Tirkey, Sandeep Michael made good of the chances provided to them. Most of the boys are, without any doubt, abundantly talented but it remained to be seen what the rookies could do and without a doubt, the skills of new entrants were a revelation!
Speed without stick work is like an empty cannon and creating opportunities in the mid-field is of prime importance for any team. Fortunately, both at Holland and at Malaysia, India displayed that it is gradually learning that only collective skills of players can bring about a cohesive finish. So despite heavy marking of Skipper Dhanraj Pillai and Gagan Ajit Singh, the other players rallied the ball around to create newer opportunities to score.
The forward line of Dhillon, Pillay, Thakur, Prabhjot shouldered the attack well but muffed up several penalty corners in the entire championship through poor co-ordination. No doubt the ailing Jugraj Singh, watching the match in his hospital bed in New Delhi, was sorely missed and is required by the team at the earliest.
India has at the moment some outstanding players who on their day can pulverize any defence in the world. Their movements are swift and have a lot of charm and grace written over them but they still need to do a lot of homework to see that their movements result in more goals and better finish.
A prime requirement of the modern era is that all players must be capable of playing in two different positions so as to switch positions in times of crisis. Our tackling has to be more aggressive and determined rather than timid and we must emphasise on improving our mid-field play so as to create greater goal scoring opportunities.
Hopefully, this victory will be part of an upswing curve that will take the Indian team to greater heights.
A strategy based on the 5-3-2-1 formation is best suited to attack and pulverising the opponent and it is time we adopted bolder and more aggressive measures to counter the game plan of international opponents. If we were to apply these fundamentals, I would stick my neck out and predict that this team has in it to be a world beater.
Though Rajendra Singh has kept abreast with the latest innovations in the game around the globe and has a nucleus of talented players, it is imperative that he realises that he has some fine uncut diamonds in his possession who need to be cut and polished to crowning glory.
India has adequate talent at its disposal to be a giant in the hockey arena but the Indian Hockey Federation has to do a lot of soul searching and hard work before this team can deliver what it promises with its immense potential.