Right end of the stick

BHUBANESWAR: Played six. Won one. Drawn two. Lost three.With just these bare facts, it looks like India underwhelmed at the Hockey World League Final.There is certainly an element of truth to that. The midfield and forward line disappeared in the biggest of moments (Argentina in the semifinals), while the forwards and drag-flickers did not score enough between them.

To compound matters, the defence conceded goals at the most inopportune of moments, allowing the opposition to equalise or take the lead in four out of six matches. Only once in those four matches did the hosts kick on to retake the lead (Germany on Sunday).Yet, on deeper investigation, Manpreet Singh’s men can be quietly pleased with their work. Seven of the 18 were playing in their first major event, and Manpreet himself was helming a side without two of its main leaders: PR Sreejesh and Sardar Singh.
While they did stink the place out against England and didn’t have an answer against Germany in the group stage, they held Australia and beat Belgium.

More crucially, when push came to shove, they refocussed to win bronze against Germany for a third podium finish in FIH events in the last 24 months (same event in Raipur in 2015, and the 2016 Champions Trophy in London).This body of work suggests that there is a house being built by coach Sjoerd Marijne and the backroom staff. It may not be to everyone’s liking, but the fact that there is a blueprint to begin with is an excitable thought in itself. India’s myopia has hurt them repeatedly in the past. Other top teams only live for two tournaments (World Cup and Olympics), with the others acting as a means to an end.
India has seldom adopted that approach. That may have changed in Bhubaneswar. Youngsters were given a chance with Tokyo in mind, and players were trusted to find their own solutions.

This is not to say that Marijne’s men are now finished products. Consistency is still a big worry, something the Dutch coach addressed after their win against Germany. “That’s the thing that we need to work on. It’s the most important thing in tournaments like this. We played at the highest level. I know what mentally happens to the team. Now we take steps to improve.”The team came in for a lot of criticism for their poor conversion rate from short corners, but Marijne opted to look at the positive side. “I know that. But if you did create chances to get all those penalty corners, it means that you did something good.”

Harmanpreet Singh, who scored the match-winner against Germany, said the team will only learn from their mistakes. “If you don’t make mistakes, you won’t learn. It’s sometimes good to make mistakes”
That’s the next stage in the team’s developmental process. Given that this side’s average age is 23.5, they will make errors. The younger the composition of the side, the more errors you will get.
However, the only way to get that out of the system is to keep playing them. The only thing that Marijne hopes for is for seniors to lead the side by example when these errors crop up. “The better the seniors play, the easier it will be for the younger players.”   

The competition at the top of world hockey has never been more intense. Out of the eight teams that played at the Kalinga Stadium, any five of Australia, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands or Argentina can win the World Cup next year. India leads the second rung of teams which might challenge the hierarchy on their day.If they  do continue on this upward trajectory, they may reach the first rung by this time next year.

swaroop@newindianexpress.com