Hockey: Back-to-back World Cup heartbreaks show similar pattern as junior team fails to learn from past mistakes

Tribune News Service

Indervir Grewal

Chandigarh, December 18

The Indian campaign’s trajectory at the junior men’s hockey World Cup was remarkably similar to their anticlimactic run in the 2021 edition.

In both the tournaments, India outclassed the two weaker teams in their pool to qualify for the knockouts. But their losses to European teams, which though lower-ranked were expected to challenge India in their group, raised doubts about the two-time champions’ chances going forward.

India won their quarterfinals — against Belgium in 2021 and Netherlands in 2023 — by the closest of margins; and that proved to be the zenith of India’s flight as they lost their next two games to crash out without a medal.

On both occasions, it was Germany who started India’s downfall with convincing wins in the semifinals. India then lost to the same team that had defeated them in the pool stage — France in Bhubaneswar and Spain in Kuala Lumpur.

Germany too had a sense of Deja Vu — for the second time in a row they met one of their pool opponents in the final. This time, though, they rewrote the script — having beaten Argentina in the group before losing to them in the 2021 final, Germany did a reverse over France in this year’s title match after their pool defeat. In fact, Germany also beat Argentina in the quarterfinals to avenge their 2021 final loss.

India’s paths at the two World Cups might have been similar but their back-to-back failures were neither coincidental nor can they be overlooked.

One-dimensional

India are historically one of most attacking sides in world hockey. The junior team, though, was uncharacteristically flat and toothless in attack. India’s game lacked variety and ingenuity. There was very little cohesion between the midfield and the forwardline, which meant the team depended more on individual brilliance rather than team moves.

India’s go-to move was the long diagonal aerial ball to the far corner of the semicircle. Apart from it, India mostly resorted to playing long balls from their own half to the attacking third. But the Indian players’ off-the-ball movement was too predictable; and against the teams with a strong man-to-man defence, India largely seemed clueless — their game against Germany being the prime example.

India’s failure to adapt also highlighted their tactical limitations. Rather than trying to patiently build their attacks, which meant taking the back-pass option occasionally, India stuck with their long-ball ploy and hit a brick wall. It led to countless interceptions and missed passes, which meant India kept giving away possession, and control over the game, frequently.

Even when India seemed threatening — in the second half against Netherlands or in the first half against Germany — they were largely denied a direct shot on goal and the most they could get was a penalty corner. Contrary to the general perception, India’s penalty corner was not their strongest suit.

In their four matches against Spain (twice), Germany and Netherlands, India could convert just three of their 33 penalty corners; and only one was scored with a drag-flick, while the other two came from a deflection and a rebound.

In fact, most of India’s goals came after chaotic passages — from turnovers, interceptions and rebounds. In the second half of their quarterfinal, the Dutch committed hara-kiri by getting drawn into a fast-paced, but error-filled, game that suited a desperate India. However, against Germany and Spain — who not only controlled the ball for long periods but also held their defensive structure — India could not gain momentum.

Ball-watching defenders

By controlling the pace of the game, Germany and Spain also managed to pick apart India’s defence. The two teams built their attacks patiently and hit India in bursts, catching the defence on the wrong foot.

In fact, the Europeans highlighted India’s glaring frailties in defence. Their zonal structure lacked cohesion. The Indian players were slow to close down spaces in the midfield. India also failed to intercept many dangerous long passes into their defensive third.

India’s man-marking in the deep was also not up to the mark. A prime example was Spain’s second goal in the bronze medal playoff. With seven defenders covering just two Spanish players in their semicircle, India still allowed an attacker to receive a pass, turn around and fire a shot past the goalkeeper.

More than the repeated failures to win a medal, it is the junior team’s inability to rectify its shortcomings that is a major concern for the future of the senior team.

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