On a wing and a prayer

There was a time when India was a veritable powerhouse in world hockey.  Between 1928 and 1956, it won the Olympic Gold medal six consecutive times. Thereafter, till 1980, 1976 was the only year when the team could not manage a podium finish, accumulating two Golds, one Silver and two Bronze medals during this period.

Those were the days of stalwarts like Ashok Kumar, BP Govinda, Zafar Iqbal, Mohammad Shahid, Jagbir Singh and Dhanraj Pillay.  Individually they were all world class and as a team they were world champions.

The glory days have since passed. India hasn’t won a field hockey medal since 1980, with the team failing to so much as qualify for the last Olympic Games in Beijing. Though India has made it to the line-up of the London Games this year, the tenth placed team is clearly not in the hunt for a medal.

Indeed, it has been quite an uphill trudge for the team after the 2008 disaster in Santiago. Just before the Beijing Olympics, India played eight matches against four different teams – France, Spain, South Africa and Great Britain. The Bharat Chetri-led Indian team found the going  rather tough against the Europeans.

Luck, too, has not been on India's side. In London, the team has been placed in Pool B with Germany, Holland, South Korea, New Zealand and Belgium. Germany and Holland are the current holders of the Gold and Silver medal respectively and India plays the two giants at the very outset of their campaign. In fact, the Indians begin against Holland and play Germany in their third match.

Overall, the expectations from this campaign will be low. Even if India manages to finish sixth, it would be regarded as a bit of a triumph given the fact that South Korea, New Zealand and Belgium are tough teams to beat. However, if the Indian team is to pull a giant-killing act out of the hat, it would have to tighten up on what has been their prinipal lacuna of late – the defence.

To prevent the European attacking midfielders from making inroads into the D, Gurbaj Singh on the right and Manpreet Singh and Birendra Lakra on the left will have to be extra vigilant. A major part of this responsibility will rest with Gurbaj Singh and Sardara Singh.

Another hurdle would be the blue turf on which all the matches are scheduled to be played. The extra pace and uneven bounce will take some getting used to. Yet India’s Australian coach, Michael Nobbs, is expecting a top six finish (see exclusive interview). He also says that with a little bit of luck the team can do wonders in London. For a team placed tenth in the world, the sixth spot in the Olympics would not be a bad deal at all.

Nobbs is credited with having revived India's old attacking style of play. With the help of fellow Australian David John (exercise physiologist) and medical officer Lt Col Bibhu Nayak, the coach has made the Indian players leaner and fitter in just a year's time.

The 16-member squad has got the right mix of youth and experience. But only Ignace Tirkey and Sandeep Singh have played in an Olympic Games before.

Shivendra Singh will spearhead India's attack. Along with him, Tushar Khandker, SV Sunil and SK Uthappa will be responsible for scoring goals for India. In addition, they will also have to create penalty corner opportunities. If they succeed, the team has Sandeep Singh and VR Raghunath to convert the penalty corners into goals. The team also has the perfect all-rounder in vice-captain Sardara Singh, who can handle the forward line as well as the defence of the team.

Therefore, while a podium finish might still be a dream too far out of reach, the Men in Blue may have a chance to pull themselves out of the abyss that they have fallen into.