CWG Hockey final: to learn from India's defeat to Australia

Why India lost 0 – 8 to Australia in the Commonwealth games final?

Shiv Jagday FIH Coach

INTRODUCTION

In front of a capacity crowd at Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium, a live international television audience, and with the Prime Minister of India viewing, India lost 0-8 to Australia in the 2010 Commonwealth Games final.

The 8 goal drubbing equaled the worst ever defeat in the history of Indian hockey. Several questions come to mind.

• Was Australia so disproportionally superior to India?
• If so, in which departments of the game?
• How can one explain the goal glut for the final of a tournament – 8 unanswered goals, 4 in each half?

This article seeks to explain the technical, tactical, physical, emotional and psychological reasons for India’s massive defeat.

GOAL SUMMARY

First let’s take a look at the distribution of the 8 goals that were inflicted upon India by the Australian team … Cause and effect theory.

Goal No.	Goal Type	Time Scored	Reason for Goal
1	FG	16 min	Turnover on a 16’s free hit taken by Sardara, converted in to a goal by alert Australian offence
2	PC	18 min	Poor tackling by Mahadik, who was caught flat-footed, Jamie Dwyer manufactured a PC. Luke Doerner converted it.
3	FG	28 min	Unforced turnover by Mahadik resulted in a counter attack by Australia. Sardara had difficulty tackling 1 on 1, resulting in a goal.
4	PC	34 min	Poor footwork by Sardara, resulted in a penalty corner, when Australia took a out of D free hit. Luke Doerner converted it.
5	PC	49 min	Dumb mistake, Gurbaj hits the ball, after the whistle is blown, near the 23 meters line. PC awarded. Luke Doerner converts it.
6	FG	59 min	Indian defense caught napping; Australia scores from a solo run, after dodging a few deep defenders.
7	FG	66 min	Indian goal keeper error. He should have let the ball go, which was hit out of D, from the Right inner’s position. Jamie pounced on the rebound and scored his first goal of the tournament.
8	FG	69 min	Poor timing and tactic by India, of employing a full court press. Australia scores a field goal.

Let’s examine the reasons for India’s lopsided defeat, by dividing the article into 3 sections:

• Tactical Blunders that led to India’s Defeat
• Areas for Improvement by India
• Where India Played Well

TACTICAL BLUNDERS THAT LED TO INDIA’S DEFEAT

Game plan of Playing an Open Game

One has to be selective of when to play open hockey and when to play a compact one. An open play strategy worked very well in the match against Pakistan, who also plays a similar style of hockey.

However, against a dominant and in-form Australia, winners of the 2010 Champions Trophy and the 2010 World Cup, one just cannot afford to play an open game for full 70 minutes duration.

Rather, one should pick the moments of attack in a methodical, planned way, similar to how England and Germany played Australia, during the 2010 Hero Honda World Cup. England was the only team which defeated Australia in the Delhi World Cup, while Germany lost a very close final 1-2 to Australia.

While a loss is a loss, losing by a score of 1-2 looks much more respectable than a 0-8 drubbing.

Suggested strategy: Pick the moments of attack in a well organized and systematic way.

Inability to Control the Pace of the Game

The game of hockey is not a 100 meters sprint; one has to control the pace of the game, slowing down, when and where required.

India played the final at such a high pace, that they got physically and mentally fatigued by the middle of the first half itself. This resulted in turnovers, caused by poor pass selection and decision making. Further, desperate tackles and clumsy footwork, were also penalized.

The tragedy was compounded by the fact that no mid-course correction was applied, and India kept on going in top gear, and kept on committing rookie mistakes and turnovers.

Suggested strategy: Control the pace of the game, during the various phases of the game, especially when one sees the things going out of control.

Lack of Ball Possession

A team, which plays an open fast game, while being unable to control the pace and maintain the possession of the ball, will sure loose the ball frequently. This is what happened to India and this made them vulnerable to fast counters attacks.

Yes, India did look dangerous in the first 10-15 minutes of the game, but lost control thereafter. Several turnovers resulted, due to poor passing or dribbling skills. These turnovers resulted in not only losing ball possession, but also in panicked running as the team struggled to regain possession.

India conceded 2 goals in the last 7 minutes of the first half, and 2 goals in the last 4 minutes of the second half. That’s four preventable goals, had India learnt to maintain possession of the ball as the clock was winding down.

Suggested strategy: Maintain the possession of the ball, with pre planned strategies.

Blind Hit-and-Hope

One of the key tactics of the Indian team was to cross the center line – while approaching the opponents 23 – and hit a hard diagonal/square hit into the striking circle. This was done many times, without building up an attack, and astutely analyzing the current game situation at the time of the hit. On top of this there were hardly any variations to sprinkle an element of surprise.

To make matters worse, there was not much off-the-ball running by the Indian strikers to ward off their defenders. As a result, the alert Australian deep defenders could anticipate these blind hit-and-hope hits, and instantly convert them into Australian counter-attacks.

Suggested strategy: Build the attack + gain momentum + attack with optimum players in support + vary the type of attack to sprinkle the element of surprise.

Poor Marking of Opponents

Knowing the different types of markings, and understanding, which one to employ when and where, has never been a strong point of Indian hockey over the past few decades.

During the final, India gave so much space and time to the Australia’s back 4 players, including several others, that they could make short or long passes at will, to their leading forwards to launch attacks.

This defensive flaw of loose marking was first exposed during the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where Australia whipped India 6-1. This was a shocking new record for goals scored against India, and took the fear factor out of India’s opponents.

What made this final quite ironic was that Ric Charlesworth, current coach of the Australian team, played against Ajitpal Singh and Ashok Kumar, during the historical1976 Olympics pool match. Ajitpal Singh and Ashok Kumar, the current men in power of Indian hockey, were sitting beside Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in the stands and passively watching the rout … not an ideal situation to be in.

Suggested strategy: Understand the various types of marking and employ them effectively.

Disorganized Full-Court Press

With 20 seconds to go for the final whistle, while being down 0-7, India should have played safe. And control the damage. Instead, India employed a half-hearted, disorganized, full- court press on the Australian team, when they were taking a sideline free hit, near their goal line on the left side of the field.

Was this is a wise decision, at such a late stage of the game, with the score reading 0-7, and that also, against a world champion team Australia? You be the judge!

What eventually transpired was that Australia easily escaped the full court press and scored their 8th goal. Losing 0-7 would have looked better than losing 0-8.

Suggested strategy: Know the types of Presses and employ them accordingly, during the various phases of the game.

Food for thought: What strategic changes did the coaching staff make in the game plan, during the half-time, when the score was 0 – 4? What sideline instructions were being imparted by the coaching staff in the last few minutes of the first half, when the score was 0-2, and during the last few minutes of the second half, when the score was 0-6? How could these soft goals being conceded at the end of each half, have been avoided?

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT BY INDIA

Reduce Running with the Ball

The following fact needs to be drilled into the players’ heads – the ball travels faster than the player. Almost everyone in the Indian team, with the exception of the goalkeeper, runs with the ball way too much, and that too in a way that reduces their optimum passing options.

On a practical note, when one is running with the ball at full speed, with the head down, one cannot analyze the game situations effectively to make optimal passes.

Coaching tip: Employ change of pace, direction and dexterity, while running with the ball. The coaching staff should show the video clips of Railways Balbir Singh and Harbinder Singh playing in their hay days, in the 60’s. I understand that both were so fast and could run 100 meters with the ball, under 11 seconds!

They never ran like a mad bull on the field, with the ball. They employed the strategies of speed, change of pace, direction and dexterity, to make the opponents bite the dust.

The Disease of Over-Dribbling

The Indian players dribble way too much, and in the process hang on to the ball more than needed. When I watch the old films of the great Dhyan Chand, he played first time with the ball, passing and receiving, using the technique of give-and-go, and dodging opponents effortlessly, when the timing was right.

Unfortunately, the Wizard’s son Ashok Kumar, who represented India, in the 1970s, and Mohammad Shaheed in the 1980s, were often guilty of over-dribbling the ball, and this trend has kept infecting each succeeding generation of Indian hockey players.

In the Commonwealth Games final, Jamie Dwyer exhibited optimal dribbling skills based on his position on the field, in the 2nd and 31st minutes of the first half. On both these occasions, Jamie, while playing as a Left-in received a pass from his left half and left full-back from a side line free hit and the 16’s free hit, respectively. He floated away gracefully, from his markers, while executing a play making pass to his teammates to, launch a dangerous attack.

Watching Jamie in full flow reminded me of how triple-Olympic-gold-medalist Udham Singh used to dribble and carry the ball in the 1950s and 1960s. Both Udham and Jamie are short in height, but tall in hockey intelligence and creativity.

Coaching tip: Each position on the field has a different strategic style of moves; current India players are unaware of this. Please get educated.

Lack of In-depth Tactical Knowledge of the Game

Individually, and as a team, the majority of the Indian players lack in-depth tactical knowledge and game sense. They cannot read the opponent’s offensive and defensive strategies during the run of play. As a result, they are unable to foresee problematic game situations in advance, nor counter them in real time when they happen on the field.

Knowledge is power, and the Indian players don’t understand what works, what does not work, and why? In-depth tactical knowledge was where “Charlie’s Devils” were way ahead of India in the final.

Coaching tip: Teach the younger generation of Indian players this game sense, and their role and responsibility – offensively and defensively – via small sided games.

Lack of Hockey Fundamentals

a. Tackling

The Indian team needs to understand the various types of tackles, and knowing which one to employ, when and where, in a given game situation. Further, knowing when to delay, where to channel and commit at the optimum time, will be an added bonus. Due to lack of this understanding, India gave away soft goals and penalty corners.

I like to take the example of Sadara, who is one of the finest players in the universe. When Australia scored their 3rd goal, on a counter attack, Sardara faced a 1 on 1 situation near the circle against an Australian forward. Due to his not so strong defensive strategic positioning, resulted in the forward being able to dodge on his strong side, further, holding the stick with 2 hands, while tackling from left, did not allow Sardara to optimize his reach. Later, with a minute to go in the half time, he was caught on the wrong foot, while tackling Jamie, which resulted in a PC and the 4^th goal.

b. Possession Skills under Pressure

Whenever Australia put pressure on any Indian player, with the ball, it resulted in a panicked play or a poor passing decision, leading to a turnover and an Australian counter attack.

c. Dodging

Inability to cleanly dodge an opponent, and more importantly, knowing when to dodge and when to pass, was one of the drawbacks of the Indian team, leading to several inefficient plays.

d. Aerial Hockey

India could have employed more aerial strategies, when Australia was employing a full-court press on the deep defense?

e. In-to-In hockey

How did Australia score their 1st goal? The Australian left-in dribbled the ball towards his left, drawing the Indian defense to the left side. He quickly brought the ball to his strong right side and passed it to his right-in, who then passed the ball to his leading forward in the striking circle to score a goal with a backhand shot. This tactic is also called ‘changing the point of attack’. I didn’t see India employing this play in their attack.

Coaching tip: Develop these skills in the young and upcoming hockey players

Lack of Set Penalty Corner Plays

In the final, India got 2 penalty corners and Australia effectively got 3 (2 were repeat PCs for Australia, making their total tally of 5 PCs).

Australia scored 3 goals from their 3 (effective) penalty corners making it a 100% conversion rate. India scored 0 goals from their PCs, resulting in a 0% conversion rate.

Of the two PCs awarded to India, the ball was not stopped cleanly for the first PC, and Sandeep executed a feeble push on the second PC, which immediately led to an Australian counter attack. Two golden opportunities were thus wasted.

Unforced Errors were the turning points of the game

An unforced turnover by left full-back Dhananjay Mahadik in the 15th minute of the first half, when the score was 0-0, helped Australia score their 1^st goal.

An equally devastating unforced error occurred in the 14th minute of the second half, when Gurbaj Singh, pushed the ball after the umpire blew his whistle, resulting in a penalty corner and eventually their first goal of the second half.

Was this due to fatigue, loss of focus or plain foolish plays that India started making schoolboy mistakes by the 15th minute of each half?

Coaching tip: Employ simulation approach, during the training camps.

A couple of years ago, I was talking to the German goalkeeper, member of the 2004 Athens Olympics team. He mentioned that during their Olympic preparation camps, they had country-specific practices, on how they would play Australia, how they would play Spain, and so on. As a result, they knew what to expect and how to counter it effectively during the Olympic competition. This simulation approach helped them improve their performance and effectiveness’.

WHERE INDIA PLAYED WELL

Winning a Medal, Finally!

In the 12-year history of Commonwealth Games men’s hockey, India entered the final for the first time, and ended with a silver medal. This was quite an honor and achievement, and made up for the disappointing World Cup finish earlier in the year.

Sardara Singh’s Silky Skills

It is a beauty to watch Sardara Singh play, with so much confidence, poise and grace. He sure is a creative player, and makes things happen on the field. Of course, no one is perfect, and Sardara too needs fine tuning on his tackling skills and correct use of footwork.

The day India will have 5-6 players of Sardara’s capability and intelligence; they stand a good chance of finishing consistently in the top 4 of world hockey rankings.

Peak Performance (though for the first 15 minutes of the game only)

In the Commonwealth Games final, India exhibited peak performance in the first 10-15 minutes of the game. The Indian players had the desire to excel and win, they exhibited confidence, showed no fear of the world champions Australia, demonstrated an ethic of hard work, with a high quality of passing and receiving skills.

Unfortunately, the duration of a hockey game is 70 minutes. India could not sustain this peak performance of play after 15 minutes into the final.

Movement of the Ball in the Backfield

It has taken India a long time, more than 20 years to understand the value of moving the ball in the backfield. This is the tactic of ‘Positive Indirect Hockey’, European in origin.

German coach Gerald Rach first introduced this tactic to the Indian team, just a few weeks before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. And Spanish coach Jose Brasa has further refined it over the past couple of years.

While, there is still a long way for India to go, to employ this tactic as effectively as the Germans do. No question, this is a step in the right direction.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, India made Australia look much better than they were, due to the various tactical mistakes outlined in this article. Note, however, that the purpose of this article is not to criticize the Indian hockey coaching staff, but to introspect and see what needs to be changed and improved.

India was a role model for the world of hockey, up till the mid 70’s, when their world supremacy started vanishing after winning the 1975 world cup. Leading countries had studied the Indian – Asian – hockey and taken the best of it and translated it in to their style of play to become more effective, efficient, respected and feared hockey playing nations of the world.

The Indian hockey has been caught in the middle, entirely forgetting about their past hockey winning culture, style of play, strategies and strengths, while trying to imitate the European teams and their style of play. There has to be an optimum balance – wining formula – the way Australia has managed to create!

Success on the field is the result of Long term planning, preparation and execution. The lessons learned by India from the 2010 Commonwealth Games hockey final, can go a long way to achieve higher goals, in the future.