India play New Zealand in a do-or-die crossover game in the Hockey World Cup on Sunday at the Kalinga Stadium here. And Odisha’s former India players and coach have a word of advice for the players: “Play with a calm mind.”
“The Indian players are playing under tremendous pressure. Until and unless you come out of the pressure zone, you cannot give your best performance. Wales played well, they had nothing to lose and played with an open mind,” former India player Lazarus Barla said.
India won 4-2 but it was well short of the target.
Barla added: “After England defeated Spain, India needed to score eight goals to qualify directly for the quarter finals. The fans expected India to score eight goals and I think that put them under pressure. The Indians started making mistakes which led to missing a lot of opportunities.”
Barla also said there is a lack of implementation of plans in the Indian team. “Our players are penetrating the D circle but losing focus after that. If you are not able to score a field goal, you should try to convert it into a penalty corner. The poor rate of penalty corner conversion also made matters difficult.”
Peter Tirkey, the first player from Odisha to represent India at the junior level in the 1980s and now a coach, said: “It seems there is a lack of planning in the Indian team. Instead of holding the ball, one should immediately pass the ball. But it has not been happening. This needs to be solved.”
KC Choudhury, who has been a coach since 1987 and under whose tutelage players like current Hockey India president and former India captain Dilip Tirkey, Barla and Amit Rohidas developed, refused to buy the fact that India were bogged down by the burden of expectations.
“I don’t agree that crowd pressure is a problem because the players are used to it. There is a lack of planning. And even if they have a plan, they are failing to execute it,” he said.
“I saw the New Zealand versus India practice match (before the Hockey World Cup) at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela which the former won 3-0. I thought we lacked planning and there is a shortage of confidence too. You need to plan for each quarter,” he added.
Choudhury’s tip? “India should be more pragmatic in the rival half. No player should hold the ball for too long.”
Hardik blow
Midfielder Hardik Singh, who had picked up a hamstring injury during the Pool match against England, has failed to recover and has been ruled out of the tournament. He has been replaced by Raj Kumar Pal.
Forward Mandeep Singh was hit on his knee during training on Saturday and left with the team physio, but the seriousness of his injury is not known.
Whatever may be the challenges, India’s chief coach Graham Reid wants his team to be prepared for a tough test. “Overnight we had to make the difficult decision of replacing Hardik... New Zealand have nothing to lose and the pressure will be on us. I hope our team will stand up and, as I said earlier, if we play our best we can beat any team in the world,” Australian Reid said on Saturday.
“I agree that we are lacking in finishing the opportunities we have created. But I would have been more worried had we not created opportunities. I am confident that we will be better in that aspect also,” Reid added.
