Asia Cup hockey: Indians break the shackles

Rajgir: Sport is all about movement. The form and result veering towards one way or the other. 

The Indian men’s hockey team, however, appeared to be stuck in a plateaued phase. Defensive lapses and attackers lingering in the ‘almost’ zone were being played out on a repeat mode. That rut, however, was going to be shaken off here on Thursday at the Asia Cup.  

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side, after going around in loops for at least three out of four previous contests here, broke out of their own shackles to produce a comprehensive performance against Malaysia. The end result: a 4-1 win for the hosts. 

The start, however, began on a jittery note for the home side. Malaysia’s statistics in the four matches, prior to their clash against India, read: total goals scored: 25 with a whooping 21 of them coming through field goals. That gives one an idea about the proficiency of their forwards. 

Once again, the world No. 12 team capitalised on its strength to open the scoresheet when Shafiq Hassan knocked the ball in in the 2nd-minute. 

Undeterred, the hosts, mixing it up by taking the aerial route and quick passes, began their attacks. As many as seven tries, though, refused to go inside the goal post. 

It was in the second 15-minute play that the forward motion India had been longing for some time now, began to take shape. And the responsibility of getting them off the blocks was gladly taken by the experienced midfield maestro, Manpreet Singh. The 33-year-old tapped in a rebound off a Harmanpreet’s flick in the fifth back-to-back penalty corners. 

Drawing inspiration from the senior-most pro, Sukhjeet Singh was in the right place at the right time to score India’s second goal in less than two minutes from the first before striker Dilpreet Singh’s forehand drive from outside the ‘D’ hit Malaysian goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman’s foot for the ball to raise up and allow Shilanand Lakra to log in a goal. 

Walking out and in at half-time with a gait that exuded confidence, dominant India had the Malaysian’s searching for answers. Another midfielder, Vivek Sagar Prasad, also found the back of the net in the 38th minute. 

The thing about plateaued phase is it demands relentless patience. Coach Craig Fulton - armed with mind coach Paddy Upton’s presence here - and his waiting game finally bore the fruit. 

Result: Super 4s: India: 4 (Manpreet Singh 16th, Sukhjeet Singh 18th, Shilanand Lakra 24th, Vivek Sagar Prasad 38th) vs Malaysia: 1 (Shafiq Hassan 2nd); China: 3 (Benhai Chen 13th, 43rd, Jiesheng Gao 43rd) bt Korea: 0. 

5-8 placing: Bangladesh: 5 (Ashraful Islam 10th, 23rd, Roman Sarkar 28th, 33rd, Tayab Ali) bt Kazakhstan: 1 (Altynbek Aitkaliyev 38th).