Weight of the world

The stage is set. The top teams in the continent — minus Pakistan, who decided to withdraw due to “security concerns” — have descended upon the ancient city of Rajgir for the Asia Cup. After last year’s Women’s Asian Champions Trophy proved Rajgir’s capability of hosting international tournaments, the ‘city of kings’ is ready for its first high-profile event.

The Asia Cup is second only to the Asian Games in terms of importance in the continent, and has the added prize of a World Cup qualifying spot.

For India, this edition holds extra importance. It is only the third time India are hosting the tournament. It is also the first time in over 20 years that India will play with the added pressure of trying to earn World Cup qualification. It was back in 2003, when current Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey was at the peak of his playing career, that India needed to win the Asia Cup to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. India did qualify as they beat Pakistan 4-2 in the final to capture the first of their three Asia Cup titles (followed by 2007 and 2017).

Since then, India have hosted three of the four World Cup editions (2010, 2018 and 2023), making the qualification process irrelevant. In 2013, they entered the Asia Cup having already sealed a spot in the 2014 World Cup.

Going by the rankings and recent trend in Asian hockey, India are the clear favourites to win the title and qualify for the World Cup to be hosted by Belgium and Netherlands next year.

The question is will India play with the self-assurance, but not overconfidence, of being the No. 1 team in Asia and not get swept away by the emotions of the situation or overwhelmed by the pressure of qualification.

India have again sought the help of renowned mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton. “It is a qualifier so we are using those resources. Paddy is fully responsible for the mental approach and mindset of the team,” India coach Craig Fulton said.

On paper, the gulf between India and the other teams is currently so obvious that if the hosts play their best game they will blow away the competition.

The most recent example of India proving their might in the continent was their Asian Games victory in 2022. India won all their matches and that too by a margin of at least two goals, with their goal difference in the tournament being an exceptional 59.

India, though, come into the tournament after a horrid run in the Pro League, losing seven of their eight matches during the European leg. India were missing the efficiency that helped them win two consecutive Olympics bronze medals. They looked disorganised at the back and out of sync in attack. They conceded soft goals and missed the few scoring chances they got. But they are going through a transition with new players coming in.

The penalty corner conversion was the biggest let-down, with a hand injury to skipper Harmanpreet Singh exposing a lack of backup options for the team’s premier drag-flicker.

The Pro League setback was an eye opener, Harmanpreet said. “Whatever we have learnt in the Pro League we shouldn’t repeat those mistakes here,” Harmanpreet said. “Every team has come here to win so we can’t take anyone lightly.”

India’s biggest challenge will come from Malaysia and South Korea. Both teams had good build-ups with solid performances in the recent Nations Cup. The ever-attacking Malaysia have caused India much trouble in recent years with their unpredictability and never-say-die spirit. On the other hand, South Korea provide a completely different challenge with their highly-organised defence and electric counterattacks, complemented by a deceptively effective penalty corner routine.

“This is our flagship event of the year, so we are putting everything in this tournament,” Fulton said. “We want to grow in the tournament but at the same time the prize is big. If we qualify from here we will have a year’s programme set. We will be pushing hard for the next 10 days,” the coach added.