India waste 11 penalty corners; Argentina win 2-1

6

Tweet

With one minute remaining, India got their 11th penalty corner and still failed with it. It's a department they have to look at very seriously. Any other team with 11 penalty corners would have cleaned the match out. Argentina defended in the last few minutes with their goalkeeper Rodolfo standing out for special mention. India can still make it to the final but for that New Zealand has to beat Argentina and India has to beat Japan by more than two goals. They also have to pray that Argentina doesn't score against New Zealand. For the few hundred Indian fans that turned up today, it was a day of disappointment that they couldn't see the Indians win and probably ensure a place in the final. ....

India beat Belgium 4-1

5

Tweet

India have beaten hosts Belgium 4-1 to record their second win in three matches. In the 67th minute, Dilip Tirkey fired in a direct hit off India's second penalty corner. The Belgians did protest saying that the ball was raised but after checking with the second umpire, the goal stood as India walked off 4-1 winners. Coach Carvalho would be happy but not satisfied with the win. The fluency was missing and India missed a great opportunity to come back into some sort of a rythmn. But the six points would have raised the confidence of the team for the matches ahead with Japan and Argentina. ....

Temperatures dip before India-Belgium game

0

Tweet

After the rains abated, has come a sudden dip in temperatures. Just before the start of the India-Belgium game, temperatures took a dive, the last recording showing 15 degrees celsius. After longish warm-up, most of the players seemed confident. Though they definitely would be careful of Belgium, since the hosts are on home ground but on form and rankings, the Indians are a better placed. Belgium at the moment are ranked 13th while the latest FIH rankings put India at the number 8 spot. The Indians have dropped Damandeep Singh (of Orissa Steelers that won the PHL) and Baljit Singh the goalkeeper. Earlier in the day, Argentina beat Japan 2-0 while England crashed to their third consecutive defeat, beaten by New Zealand 1-3. The India-Belgium game begins now. ....

Carvalho, team needs time

5

Tweet

Joaquim Carvalho wants time to build his team. Any coach in the world would want that. And probably that is the only reason why we can't get an elite coach to come and handle the 'talented' Indian team. Please remember, this is not an exercise in criticizing Joaquim Carvalho. He has taken on the team in difficult times, accepted a coaching job that probably apart from you and me, everybody has taken and failed. Giving Carvalho time is not in our hands but in the hands of two people, who go by the name of KPS Gill and K. Jothikumaran, President and secretary of the Indian Hockey Federation. Watching Carvalho while the team plays a match is watching him coach with a gun to his head. A few failures and his head would be on the line. Gone would be the need to give him time and someone who had....

India back on track at Champs Challenge

9

Tweet

Joaquim Carvalho's statement after the 3-2 victory over England summed up the mood in the Indian camp. "We needed this victory very badly," he said, looking relaxed while sipping a cup of coffee in the press centre. "I was a bit worried about the weather conditions and was relieved when the rains stopped during the last 20 minutes of the match." The downpour did stop in time for Indian outside-left Prabhjot Singh to strike home the match-winner in the 54th minute. With three points from two games, India would breathe easy on Sunday and after a day's rest on Monday take on hosts Belgium. Minutes before the crucial encounter between India and England, the rains came in as the turf filled up with water. Predictably, England dominated the opening minutes. They were faster on the counter; speedy with the ball and also put in more shoulder....

England equalise 1-1

0

Tweet

A terrible mistake by Gurbaj Singh saw a England earn two penalty corners on the run. After India saved the first, the second also was saved by Adrian D'Souza but the clearance wasn't strong. As the ball rolled free, Richard Mantell came up and hit a shot that went through Adrian's legs. A mistake by Gurbaj let's England come into the match with an equaliser and then a defensive lapse enables them to convert the penalty corner advantage. At the break, as the rains come on strong, India and England are tied at 1-1. ....

India score a stunner

0

Tweet

India could have scored only against the run of play. Off a counter-attack they had the ball on the right flank and a punishing strike saw Gurbaj trap inside the England striking circle. A beautiful dodge later the ball was with Minz who passed it to Rajpal Singh. The Chandigarh lad with a few feet space in front latched on perfectly and sent a flier that almost tore through the netting. India lead 1-0. ....

England dominate on water-logged pitch

0

Tweet

England dominate or as an English journalist said, "These are perfect conditions for us." India, meanwhile, gamely tried building up the game in the midfield but couldn't keep the pressure on the ball. Credit to England that they are creating space, building up pressure on the flanks and that led to three penalty corners for them. India, again earned the first of the match but Sandeep Singh misfired. England had three but they couldn't get hold of them perfectly. The rain is still coming down with England holding an edge on field play ....

Rains welcome Indian team before crucial tie

1

Tweet

Yet again the rains came pelting down before the India-England match here in the Champions Challenger Hockey Tournament. India need a win today and after the loss against New Zealand on Saturday, the Indian coach had only one wish - that the sun comes out. He had a point. The Indians are not a team that can play on a slushy water-logged turf. In their first game, they couldn't get into a rythmn as constantly the ball sent upfront slowed making ball-play extremely difficult. New Zealand with their hit and run tactics; having bigger players with legs like oak-trunks out run us and managed to smack in a penalty corner. Today, against England, the match that starts in a few minutes, India need a win if they hope to win the Challenger. England may have lost 3-4 to Argentina on Saturday but they have enough fire-power to take on India. ....

Rain takes the shine away

4

Tweet

The rains did come as a dampener. But the cloak of disappointment that wrapped itself around the Indian team after the 0-2 loss to New Zealand would take some peeling away. The players walked away in small groups desperate to get away to the hotel while Coach Joaquim Carvalho could have been given the benefit of the doubt if he had failed to attend the customary press conference. But he did well to hide his disappointment. Sugar-wrapping his criticism of the Indian team, he simply, said," You can’t blame the conditions. The forwards didn’t click, the midfield gave away too many balls and we should have scored from the two penalty corners we earned." In a way, it was a brief but severe indictment of the Indian team. "Apart from that, we gave too much space to them to receive the ball. And the defence committed....