“Thanks to the Australian team. They were a little bit severe on us, but we are heading to fulfill in Paris.”
This statement by Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, in his submit-match job interview, summed up the tour of the Indian men’s hockey crew to Australia exactly where they suffered a -5 whitewash in a 5-match Check series, conceding 17 aims and scoring just seven.
The scoreline of the matches resembled a weird arithmetic progression, but the state of the Males in Blue was no significantly less quirk.
The 1st match seemed like a demolition occupation as the Indian team was nonetheless acquiring their feet in Perth. From the second game, they improved brick by brick, but Australia were always 1 phase forward of Craig Fulton’s Indian workforce.
Australia have been a bogey crew for India considering that the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists could conquer any team in the earth but not Australia.
In the 48 matches performed since 2013, Australia have gained 33 versus India. In 7 matches in 2024, Australia have received 6.
One particular can argue that Fulton took a huge staff and failed to perform with a secure squad but that argument would be as abhorrent as believing that the Indian contingent would end in the leading five in the medal tally at the 2024 Paris Olympics
As Australia wreaked havoc on India, let us dive deep into it and see the challenges coach Craig Fulton has ahead of the future FIH Professional League.
Inept attacking
The initial and biggest difference between the two groups is the attacking prowess. India’s incapability to rating subject goals is now a effectively-documented truth that the globe is aware of very well. To make it worse, India unsuccessful to increase their penalty corner conversion level. India were so lousy in execution that even their star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh could not develop the requisite place to audio the board.
India conceded a complete of 17 aims in five online games and managed to rating seven in return.
The earlier mentioned chart lays out the change amongst the attacking of both groups. Of Australia’s total plans, 8 have been scored from open engage in, 8 from penalty corners, and 1 from penalty stroke.
In distinction, India scored seven, like only two discipline ambitions and five penalty corners.
As it is obvious, Australia had a balanced distribution of 8 objectives from both of those PCs and subject plans whilst India were seriously dependent on penalty corners for goals.
Hence, the issue occurs what were Indian forwards executing if not scoring aims? Had been they winning penalty corners?
The reply is a large no.
Even when it arrives to profitable PCs, India managed to receive just 18 penalty corners compared to 31 by Australia.
Addressing the situation in advance of the fourth Examination, Fulton had stated, “Our principal target is on the remaining 3. There is a major emphasis on increasing our counterattacks, keeping the ball longer in the opposition 50 percent, and executing a little something with it.”
Why Indian forwards struggled
Fulton’s philosophy of ‘defend to win’ arrives on the again of structural hockey exactly where the crew desires to retain the defensive composition intact while attacking.
In India’s situation, the crew have been having difficulties to adhere to Fulton’s philosophy given that their transition from counterattacks to defence, or vice versa has hardly ever been clean.
The likes of Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Mandeep Singh have been both gradual with their on-the-ball motion or lagging in using brief selections and playing passes, costing India critical time in the attacking third.
Hockey India Ahead of the Yr 2023 and one particular of the mainstays of India’s scoring mettle aside from Harmanpreet, Abhishek struggled with his form in Australia, and that took the sharpness off the team’s attacking prowess.
Youngster Boby Dhami Singh amazed on his debut, displaying his supreme positional recognition and scoring just one of the two area aims. Gurjant Singh scored the other discipline aim that arrived pursuing a swift counter-assault when Mohammed Raheel performed the ideal pass at the correct time.
Defence seemed good barring particular person glitches
Indian defence gave a superior account of them selves in the collection, barring the first Examination. Australia was relentless though attacking and Indian defenders defended perfectly.
India also stored the penalty corner prowess of Australia at bay and only authorized them to change 8 PCs out of the 31 they won.
The deep defending of the Indian team was excellent in all four matches but the objectives conceded had been practically nothing form of a huge self-destruction.
The lapse of concentration like Amit Rohidas gifting a penalty stroke and Jarmanpreet supplying absent balls in the circle were being the times that adjusted the program of the recreation.
India took the guide in the final 3 matches but Australia arrived back speedily into the match forcing the Indian defence to commit errors or the defence self-imploded.
Fulton and the coaching staff members require to work with the defenders on their decision-building to come across a way out when they are attacked from all corners.
Quite a few moments on the tour, Indian defenders put themselves in a problem where by they had no outlet to release the ball ensuing in decline of possession or Australia winning the ball back again.
Sreejesh stood tall among goalkeepers
All hockey coaches go as a result of assortment dilemmas whilst picking out goalkeepers for the Olympics thanks to squad limits. Only 1 goalkeeper can journey with the 16-member squad for the Olympics.
Fulton experienced the headache just before likely to Australia with both Krishan Bahadur Pathak and veteran PR Sreejesh generating excellent success in each individual match.
But following this collection, wherever Sreejesh proved his mettle towards a relentless Australian assault, Fulton will have no confusion about who will be his to start with-alternative goalkeeper for the Paris Olympics. Sreejesh’s reflexes even now glance prime notch and his final decision-producing is 2nd to none.
Krishan Pathak and third-choice keeper Suraj Karkera also gave a great account of themselves but the veteran Sreejesh stood out.
Coach Fulton has a several problems
Since joining the Indian staff as a head coach last year, Fulton has labored thoroughly on bettering the defence of the workforce and produced success with his technique.
His midfield is also a single of the very best in the world with Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, and Vivek Sagar Prasad forming the core.
The regions Fulton will eye to improve are the attacking prowess, the state of mind of attackers, and his techniques when one particular strategy does not go the way.
For case in point, when the Australian workforce foiled India’s program to enjoy very long aerial balls in the to start with two matches the group seemed out of ideas.
With FIH Professional League and Paris Olympics inching nearer, Fulton must have figured out his main group by now and we can be expecting to see them in motion up coming thirty day period at the Professional League.