Indian team started the tournament on the poor note when they lost their practice game against Australia 12-1. The fortune did not change the tournament started and India lost to Australia 3-0. the win continued to elude the Indian team in the next two games when they lost to Great Britain 4-2 and Germany 2-1. The losing trend continued when India lost to Great Britain again the 3rd-4th playoff.
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| Can he become the goal poacher India needs? |
Despite putting out decent performance against better opposition, Indian team made some common and silly mistakes or rather missed two kinds of players who would have helped Indian team in the tournament. The Indian team missed many clear goal scoring opportunities in the tournament and the that problem could have been solved with the help of a poacher and who better than Yuvraj Walmiki to handle the duties of goal poacher.
Yuvraj Walmiki, who entered the hockey scene in Asian Champions Trophy is the best choice the Indian team has to play the role of goal poacher. Quick on the field and good reader of the game, his presence of mind will allow him to be at the right place on the right time. This ability of Yuvraj makes him a very dangerous player. A team which will focused on attack is currently missing out and out center forward despite having likes of Shivendra Singh and Tushar Khandekar in its ranks. With those two experienced players working around him, Yuvraj will easily fir the role of conventional center forwards who will score goals for the Indian team. The speed of Kothjit Singh and SV Sunil in the wings will give enough opportunity to Yuvraj Walmiki to work the space in the center and score goals which it sorely misses. Indian team which did not earn many penalty corners in the recently held Olympics Hockey Test Event needs its forward line to click and Yuvraj Walmiki can surely be the India’s answer to these problems.
Currently Indian team will miss the services of Yuvraj Walmiki who is nursing hamstring injury and until two weeks ago he did not even start jogging and so his participation in the London Olympics look difficult. His timely return for the Olympics will surely give Indian team the edge it misses.
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| India’s most intelligent hockey player, perfect center half |
Another problem faced by the Indian team is a lack of center half (or a defensive midfielder as they say in football) who can hold on the ball, control the tempo and distribute the ball to other players. Along with poor defending, weak midfield is an area of concern for the Indian team. In this Indian team Sardara Singh is handling the role of the linkman but he is so overworked and marked that Indian team needs to find another player for this role.
Only Indian player who can fit in this role for India is Arjun Halappa. One of the most experienced campaigners of the India, his experience will be very important for the Indian team. Despite being the most talented player of India, his skills have not been utilized by the Indian team management. A natural center half, he was forced to work in right where he was unable to function so well. If allowed to function in the center half position, he will be able to distribute the ball and also help the Indian team in defending. One of the most intelligent player, his skills will be very useful for the Indian team.
With Arjun, India also has another Indian player who can play the role of defensive midfielder that India needs, Gurbaj Singh. But he is still work in progress but what better way to become an understudy under India’s best player, Arjun.
This Indian team under Coach Nobbs has improved a lot and with just 2-3 changes, India will surely be able to compete among the top nations.
Arjun is not a good centre half, he has injury problems, his form in WSH was pathetic and he was looking unfit to play. Better if we put S K Uthappa on that role supporting Sardar Singh.