BHUBANESWAR: Twice this year, the Indian players let themselves down when they had a chance to make amends in the shootout after the final whistle. Against Australia in the Champions Trophy final, they were beaten 1-5 and they lost out on a berth in the final at the Asian Games in Jakarta as well, going down 6-7 to Malaysia. On both occasions they failed to deliver in the shootout.
Over the past few months, the team has focused a lot during training on penalty shootout. The players have gone through the drill extensively in their final few training sessions before the World Cup gets underway on Wednesday. India open their campaign against South Africa.
While the shootout remains a cause of concern, chief coach Harendra Singh is confident his boys will deliver.
"I expect one of India's matches to go into shootout. I'm very confident that Sreejesh will stop 2-3 of them. Of the five we take, I expect at least three of the players to score. But in shootout, it is anybody's game and time is not on your side," said the Dhronacharya awardee.
On the familiar ills of conceding last-minute goals, Harendra said, "That was in the past. According to me, you gain experience from your failures. We found the loopholes in our game during the Asian Games and rectified many of them during the Asian Champions Trophy. In the last two practice matches, although Spain and Argentina put a lot of pressure, we managed to hold the ball. That's a lesson we have learnt and executed it in the training matches. Now the time has come for us to play the same hockey that we have displayed in the practice games."
SLOW PITCH
The newly-laid blue turf at the Kalinga stadium here isn't the fastest surface available and is yet to completely settle. It came in for criticism from Pakistan's assistant coach Rehan Butt on Sunday. He said, "The pitch is really heavy and it is slow. Hopefully, it will be fine after a few days."
Harendra had a different take and admitted his team will go into the tournament with the home advantage of having played on the surface for over three weeks.
"When you go into any tournament, you have to adjust. I think the Indian team has got more time on the pitch than the others because we have practised on the surface for three weeks. So the surface should be an excuse for us. It is an advantage to have trained on this pitch because you know the surface in laid out. You know how the surface plays in certain areas," he said.
Over the past few months, the team has focused a lot during training on penalty shootout. The players have gone through the drill extensively in their final few training sessions before the World Cup gets underway on Wednesday. India open their campaign against South Africa.
While the shootout remains a cause of concern, chief coach Harendra Singh is confident his boys will deliver.
"I expect one of India's matches to go into shootout. I'm very confident that Sreejesh will stop 2-3 of them. Of the five we take, I expect at least three of the players to score. But in shootout, it is anybody's game and time is not on your side," said the Dhronacharya awardee.
On the familiar ills of conceding last-minute goals, Harendra said, "That was in the past. According to me, you gain experience from your failures. We found the loopholes in our game during the Asian Games and rectified many of them during the Asian Champions Trophy. In the last two practice matches, although Spain and Argentina put a lot of pressure, we managed to hold the ball. That's a lesson we have learnt and executed it in the training matches. Now the time has come for us to play the same hockey that we have displayed in the practice games."
SLOW PITCH
The newly-laid blue turf at the Kalinga stadium here isn't the fastest surface available and is yet to completely settle. It came in for criticism from Pakistan's assistant coach Rehan Butt on Sunday. He said, "The pitch is really heavy and it is slow. Hopefully, it will be fine after a few days."
Harendra had a different take and admitted his team will go into the tournament with the home advantage of having played on the surface for over three weeks.
"When you go into any tournament, you have to adjust. I think the Indian team has got more time on the pitch than the others because we have practised on the surface for three weeks. So the surface should be an excuse for us. It is an advantage to have trained on this pitch because you know the surface in laid out. You know how the surface plays in certain areas," he said.
Source : timesofindia[dot]indiatimes[dot]com
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