Paris: India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Pool B hockey match between India and Argentina at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Monday, July 29, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)
It is hard to accurately estimate how good or bad the Indian men’s hockey team have started their campaign at the Paris Olympics. There is a case to be made that both matches so far have posed more questions than answers. For all the talk of getting to the Olympics fully ready to hit top gear, they have stuttered in large parts of their matches. After identifying that conceding early goals was a concern, they have gone down 0-1 against New Zealand and Argentina.
And yet you could say, for the glass-half-full kind, they have gathered four points from two matches, behind only Belgium and Australia. Harmanpreet Singh has scored two thrilling late goals, both in the penultimate minute of the match. They have clinched victory from the jaws of the draw, and draw from that of defeat. Surely, that can’t be too bad?
On Monday, up against a gritty Argentina side that weathered the Indian storm until the 58th minute, the captain stepped up once again to somewhat paper over the cracks but also brought cheer that late goals inevitably tend to do. It wasn’t perhaps the most cleanest drag flick he has ever sent towards goal, but it had enough venom and a dash of that crucial aspect that often decides these tight matches – luck – as it took a deflection and beat the otherwise sensational Tomas Santiago in goal. India remained unbeaten after two matches in Pool B.
A quick statistical comparison between India’s performance against New Zealand and Argentina, however, paints a clear picture on where the problem lies. Against the Black Sticks, the performance was disjointed at times but they scored thrice from 11 shots on goal, for a 27% conversion efficiency. Against Argentina, they took 15 shots on goal, for the solitary success at the very end; that’s 7% efficiency. Against NZ, India scored once from 5 Penalty Corners, but Harmanpreet’s strike on Monday meant India scored one from 10 PCs.
Harmanpreet Singh, speaking to JioCinema, was upbeat about his team’s performances so far, but admitted, “With the ball, we’re creating a lot of chances and getting into the opponent’s circle. We can improve the outcome and the finishing in the upcoming games. We have a plan, we’re creating chances, but our finishing needs to be better.”
In an ideal performance, a good international team expects to convert 1 out of 3 PCs in a match but India were well off the mark. But it has also been observed by Craig Fulton, among other prominent voices in the game, that PC defence across the globe has gotten increasingly elite. Harmanpreet explained, “Honestly, if you look at the rushers today and during the match against New Zealand, and even our rushers, the first rushers are playing a very important role for every team. We need to devise a plan and strategy on how to beat them. Hopefully, in the next match, we will come up with a better plan and finish well.”
The goal India conceded early on was another illustration of a problem that has set them back in recent times: the dreaded goal-conceding error out of the blue. In the second quarter, when India were actually piling the pressure on Argentina, they ended up going 0-1 down, but this one was from the most unexpected mistake. PR Sreejesh dived to save a rather tame, but awkwardly bobbling, shot on goal which was perhaps heading wide of the post. But the ball stuck the Indian veteran’s bow of the stick and deflected in. You only needed to see Sreejesh’s reaction – a yell in anguish – to understand it was an unfortunate error that one usually doesn’t associate with him.
But India did show the attitude to keep pushing till the end and eventually get something out the game, which also most crucially kept Argentina 3 points behind them. “We fought and created chances until the last whistle. You definitely feel relieved when you score the equalizer, but the result wasn’t in our favour as we wanted to win the match,” Harmanpreet said.
India will be back in action on Tuesday, taking on Ireland in another must-win match. Because what comes after, is back-to-back battles against two nemesis sides. Defending champions Belgium and Australia won’t be as accommodating.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. … Read More
First uploaded on: 30-07-2024 at 00:11 IST
