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Bhaskaran upset with team's showing

Harpal Singh Bedi in Utrecht

India's dismal form in international hockey continued in the 9th World Cup here, where they finished a lowly ninth in the 12-nation competition.

There was little consolation for the squad which had hoped to finish in the top six before the start of the championship. They finished their five pool engagements with four defeats to end up last in the group.

In the nine to twelve play-offs, India won against both Poland and New Zealand avoiding the humilation of returning with the wooden spoon.

Coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran attributed the main reason for India's abject display to muffed chances throughout the seven matches they played. He said, ''Had we connected at least 30 per cent of the crucial shots, things could well have been different.''

The coach also said that the defenders did not play to their potential, though they are the best in the country. ''We gifted all the four goals to Germany, because of bad midfield play and poor goalkeeping,'' Baskaran pointed out, adding that it the defenders couldn't overcome their nerves while making the clearances.

India began the tournament disastrously, being trounced back to back on consecutive days by Germany and Holland, two of the strongest squads in the business.

Nothing worked for them, with the forwards lacking cohesion failing to intercept passes, and erratic ball control added to their woes. To cap this, there was very mediocre goalkeeping.

In the pool games, the Indians not only scored the least goals but also topped in the number of goals let in by both Jude Menezes and Jagdish Ponnappa.

India missed the boat for a chance in the first six, and in the process gave up the opportunity to play at the next Champions Trophy at Lahore this November, when they were outplayed by Canada in their last pool match.

In that game, the Indians needed a win to finish third in the group. But poor tactical play spelt disaster for them after they took the lead. Canada equalised and then went ahead, with India adding to its own woes when Ramandeep singh shot out off a penalty stroke.

All the teams took the fullest advantage of India's vulnerable defence and manufactured penalty corner opportunities at will. The midfeild gave too much of open space to the opposite forwards, and after being beaten did not either have the speed or craft for a recovery tackle.

A disappointed Baskaran said, ''The team did not play with focus, and did not learn from its previous mistakes. Repeated viewing of videotapes also did not make a difference. Nobody, myself least of all, could imagine this team could play so badly," the coach added.

The coach was of the view that despite being provided the best of facilities, the players did not play upto the expectation.

''There are many players who have played enough international hockey, and if they commit such mistakes, what can one do?'' he said.

''I think the entire team played below average. If only we had scored in the first 20 minutes when we dominated Holland, the picture might have been different. At this level, one has to convert half chances -- here we muffed sitters, how can you expect a team to win which does not score?'' said Bhaskaran.

He refused to name any player for praise or blame, saying the whole team failed.

Baskaran said the one match India played well was against Korea. ''I think the players played well and with vigour, that was a critical match for us, we should have won but you know what happened, I need not go into the details about that match''.

The coach admitted that goalkeeping was weak and the defenders were tentative and nervous. ''They (defenders) did not perform well, though they are the best in the country they looked nervous and confused while clearing or taking the hit."

> Assessing the midfield, Bhaskaran said that in his view, they performed to about 30 per cent of their potential.

And the forwards? "Well, they are there to score, if they miss chances galore then what else is there to say about them?"

Indian women's coach Balbir Singh meanwhile expressed satisfaction over the women's team's performance in the 9th World Cup hockey tournament.

> Indian women finished last in the 12-nation competition.

Balbir singh said, ''Though we came last, what was most encouraging was that the girls put their heart and soul in every match. Our performance would have been much better but for sickness to the players during the team's visit to Germany," he added.

Balbir said the fitness levels of the team went down during the pre-tournament training trip to Germany between April 20 and May 6.

He candidly admitted that he was not expecting any miracles from his players, but said, "We could have given some suprises, except against Holland, we put up a good fight in each match.''

Balbir said the current outfit was very young in comparison to other sides. "This has been a good exposure for the players and has provided us enough insight into how to pick up a team for the Asian Games,'' Balbir said.

''We have learnt a lot in this World Cup, especially marking and recovering the ball,'' he said.

Talking of the minuses, the coach said, "Our girls committed blunders by giving wrong passes, our penalty corner conversion also left a lot to be desired.''