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It has put coach Harendra Singh and his boys on course for a repeat of India's 2014 Asian Games campaign, i.e., a final against Pakistan. But before that, they have the tenacious Malaysians to contend with in the semis on Thursday.
India completely dominated the pool stage, scoring a world record 76 goals in five matches. Never before have more goals been scored by a team in an entire international tournament. Before this, the record stood in the name of Argentina, with 68 goals at the 2004 Pan-American Games. And India may still add to their record tally.
FIRE IN THE BELLY
"I would credit it to the change in mentality and execution of skills, fire in the belly," said Harendra talking to Timesofindia.com from Jakarta. "But most importantly, we are the ones setting the intensity of the game, which keeps the boys in the driving seat for the entire duration of 60 minutes. We are not scoring goals, we are just playing to our strength, which is attack."
India began their campaign by mauling hosts Indonesia 17-0 and then registered the biggest win in their history, 26-0, against Hong Kong. Japan were expected to give India a fight but they too were thrashed 8-0. The South Koreans threatened to end India's winning run but a 5-3 win ensured that wasn't the case. India ended their unbeaten pool campaign with a 20-0 thrashing handed out to Sri Lanka.
The above, says Harendra, can't be achieved without supreme levels of fitness.
India today are among the fittest teams in the world and quite a few notches above every team in Asia. Hockey India's (HI) professional approach from 2010 onwards must be credited for that. It didn't just give shape to Indian hockey's set-up but also provided what was required -- in terms of infrastructure, exposure, equipment and most importantly scientific approach towards training.
"Fitness is critical to accomplish (objectives). That's where Robin Arkell (HI's scientific adviser) has done excellent work on players’ fitness. Credit goes to him as well," Harendra said.
MISSION 'DECEMBER 16'
Quite interestingly, Harendra talks about 'December 16' as the motivation to defend the Asian Games gold. It's the date when the World Cup final this year will be played in Bhubaneswar.
"It was important that the momentum we gathered at the Champions Trophy (silver medal) was continued here in Jakarta, and we need to take it to December 16," the coach said.
The World Cup begins on November 28 in the Odisha capital.
MALAYSIA CAN BE NAGGING
Malaysia became a thorn in the flesh for India for some time, winning at home during the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and then again at the Hockey World League (HWL) in London. But the boys managed to sort out the Southeast Asians twice at the Asia Cup last year and then at the 2018 Azlan Shah Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Ever since former India coach Terry Walsh has joined the Malaysian Hockey Confederation as Technical Director, the sport has seen an upswing there. After Walsh was brought on board, Malaysia reached the Asia Cup final and qualified for the World Cup courtesy the HWL win over India in the quarterfinals.
Malaysia's veteran goalkeeper S Kumar will present the toughest proposition until now for the in-form Indian strikers and dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh, who is joint top goal-scorer with 13 strikes. The Malaysians won four matches in the league stage and lost only to Pool B toppers Pakistan.
But Harendra hinted India don't need to change anything and continue its ruthless approach in the semi-final as well.
"We need to crush the opposition in the first half (two quarters). But Malaysia are playing well. They try to hurt their opponents on penalty corners, which is what we need to guard against," he said.
It's not just the gold medal and India's title defence that is at stake. The continental winners get direct entry to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and India would want the qualification monkey off their back by scripting what no other Indian team has managed to do before -- finish on top of the podium at two successive Asian Games.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2wvIdXD
