Ground to cover before the Cup
NEW DELHI: India emerged joint winners with Pakistan at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, but there are areas coach Harendra Singh would want his team to fix before the World Cup begins in Bhubaneshwar from Nov 28.
India scored goals galore but in crucial matches, against Malaysia in the league stage and against Japan in the semi-finals, a much better show was expected. Harendra was furious after the goalless draw against Malaysia where the Indian strikers missed several chances. Malaysia have been a thorn in the flesh of India and denied them at the Asian Games.
The Indian team rolled over Japan in the league stage, slamming nine goals, but found the going tough in the semi-finals, edging past them 3-2. India had 67 per cent possession in the opposition half, made 27 circle entries and nine attempts (shots) in the goal. They got four penalty corners and converted just one.
Harendra was unhappy with the strikers failing to apply themselves in the striking zone. “We have to do better inside the circle. We could have created more opportunities for ourselves and that is something we need to
improve,” he had said after the match. The stats were equally in India’s favour against Malaysia in the league stage but it did not convert into goals. India made 22 circle entries to Malaysia’s seven, had six shots at the goal, and 60% possession in the opposition half as compared to Malaysia’s 40, but failed to score. India got three penalty corners and could convert none. Drag flicker Harmanpreet scored a hat-trick against Korea but also missed chances against Japan and Malaysia.
The likes of strikers Akashdeep Singh and Gurjant Singh fared well but there is still a lot of ground to cover. The Indian team has exactly a month to iron out the flaws before they face South Africa in their first league match in World Cup on November 28.