Absence of Rani Rampal: The Indian team sorely missed the services of this precociously talented striker. Rani has been a lynchpin upfront around which most of our attacking moves revolve around. A prolonged back injury kept her out of competitive action in the last eight months or so. She missed the Champions Challenge Cup in Ireland and the six match Test series against New Zealand last year. Rani was available for the Hockey World League Round 2 tournament in New Delhi, where she was at her menacing best, slamming seven goals in the tournament, including a sizzling hat-trick against Kazakhstan. A member of the 2010 FIH Women’s All Star team, Rani’s injury-induced absence was a big blow to the Indian attacking aspirations as the likes of Poonam Rani, Anupa Barla, Lilima Miz, Roselin Dung Dung and Ritusha Kumari just could not imposed themselves against their opponents. The frailties of the Indian strike force came to the fore as they were virtually reduced to mute spectators on the pitch even as the opposition ran roughshod over us.
Captain Ritu Rani’s poor form: Ritu Rani has been a bit like an old warhorse even though she is just 21. The so-called veteran’s alarming dip in form cost the team dearly. Ritu is a type of player, who controls the midfield, rushes back to help the defence in crisis situations and also scores goals, it was hugely disappointing to see her flounder. It was a sorry sight to see Ritu get repeatedly dispossessed by rival players whenever she is trying to orchestrate an offensive move or trying to wriggle her defence out of trouble. To put it honestly, Ritu failed to lead from the front.
Feeble defence was a dampener: It’s an open secret that the Indian defence wears a fragile look. And the world league campaign was another platform to further vindicate that line of thinking. The team was without drag-flicker Jaspreet Kaur, who was named the Player of the tournament in the Hockey World League Round 2 event in New Delhi. India were also without Joydeep Kaur and the absence of the duo put immense pressure on over hundred match experienced Kirandeep Kaur. Young Deep Grace Ekka put up a brave show but she lacked adequate support as the Indian defence allowed the rival forwards to make merry for most part of the tournament, which had a big say in denting the confidence of the girls.
Non-existent mid-field: Indian mid-field was virtually non-existent. With captain Ritu Rani suffering severe loss of form, that department was further depleted. Vice-captain Chanchan Devi was also listless on the pitch. Even youngsters like Navjot Kaur and Lily Chanu were found wanting. Vandana Katariya may have scored two fine goals, but did not do much in creating enough scoring chances.
Hawgood’s coaching methods: Neil Hawgood took charge of the Indian women’s team in July last year and close to a year, we are yet to see any significant improvement in the team’s fortunes. Under Hawgood, India finished seventh among eight teams in the Champions Challenge Cup in Ireland, lost to New Zealand 0-5 in a six match Test series and now this hugely downbeat HWL semifinal campaign. The Australian’s lone success came in the HWL round 2 where India qualified to the semifinal round. We all know that Indian eves are not formidable enough to take on the might of Netherlands, Germany or New Zealand, but the manner in which the girls have suffered big defeats will cast aspersions on his coaching methods. The team continued to make the same errors after losing the opener 0-7 to New Zealand. The least he could have done is to make the girls fight hard and lose with dignity. Hockey fans would surely not like to hear things like ‘this is a young team,’ ‘it will take time’, etc. No one would have cribbed if India had lost after giving the opponents a run for their money.
Pictures: Courtesy Jagran.com/Hindustan Times
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