Focus on India’s defence ahead of semifinal clash against Korea
INCHEON: India would be hoping that the defeat to Pakistan in their group match doesn’t come back to haunt them when they take on South Korea in the men’s hockey semifinals on Tuesday.
Having beaten South Korea 3-0 in the match for ninth place at the World Cup in The Hague, India would have had everything going for them had they beaten Pakistan. But quite a few defensive blunders coupled with the alacrity with which their neighbours launched counter-attacks saw India lose three points.
Though coach Terry Walsh brushed aside the loss to Pakistan as just “a matter of three points”, it has made the task of India making it to the final that much more difficult. Had India beaten Pakistan, they would have met Malaysia, which by no means can be termed anywhere as strong as Korea. HOME ADVANTAGE India coach, MK Kaushik, too conceded on Monday that beating Korea in their backyard won’t be easy. “The 3-0 win happened a long time back. They would be a far improved team when they play us tomorrow,” he said. “There will be public support and, of course, the umpiring too could be in their favour,” said Kaushik.
The defence, which let India down against Pakistan, will again be under the scanner and Kaushik said it was an issue. “Rupinder has still not recovered
CHINA, WHO DEFEATED JAPAN 1-0 IN THE FIRST SEMI-FINAL, WILL PLAY THE HOSTS IN THE GOLD MEDAL ROUND WHILE INDIA FACE JAPAN IN THE BRONZE MEDAL MATCH WEDNESDAY.
fully and we will take a call before the match. Making the defence strong is a long and tedious process. No matter how many videos of matches you show the players, their mindset has to change...they should learn to understand faster,” said Kaushik.
“In Australia, from where coach Terry Walsh hails, players know what they have to do after a couple of sessions. They don’t require repeated sessions.... here it’s different,” said the coach, sounding critical of the way India players accumulate knowledge from coaching sessions.
The match will decide whether India once again play for the bronze or fight for the title.
“We have studied their (Korea) videos and done our homework, but then the ones who play a technically superior game win.” India last won an Asian Games hockey gold in the 1998 edition — 16 years ago. WOMEN LOSE IN SEMIS The Indian women’s hockey team failed to enter the final, going down 1-3 to hosts South Korea in a semifinal match. China, who defeated Japan 1-0 in the first semi-final, will play the hosts in the gold medal round while India face Japan in the bronze medal match Wednesday.