Hockey World League Semis: India must be wary of complacency against Ireland in opener

The Indian men’s hockey team must guard against complacency when they take on Ireland in their first match of the FIH Hockey World League semifinals in Rotterdam on Thursday. The Michael-Nobbs coached side had undertaken elaborate preparations for this event, with two long strenuous training camps as well as an exposure tour of the Netherlands.

Given this scenario, the men in blue would be expected to be at their best against the Irish side, who gave them a mighty scare when they squared off during the HWL Round 2 event in New Delhi.

India rode on a brilliant reverse hit goal by Dharamvir Singh, off a nifty Mandeep Singh pass, to log full points in that game after the Green Machine twice equalized.

In fact, Ireland have been improving by leaps and bounds. They recently stunned Olympic champions Germany 3-2 in Heilbronn during a two Test series.

The Sardar Singh-led Indian side has every reason to be wary of the Greenshirts, as a setback in the first match will be a big dampener on its team’s qualifying hopes as hosts Holland and New Zealand are bandied as even tougher opponents.

Skipper Sardar Singh has a gargantuan responsibility of not only manning the midfield, but also helping out the defence in crisis situations as well as moving upfront as per the team’s needs. Of course, he has a trusted ally in ever-improving Manpreet Singh, who seems to have matured beyond his age.

Talented Birendra Lakra and Kothajit Singh are also tough cookies and would provide an ideal foil for Sardar Singh.

Vice-captain Vokkaliga Raghunath, who has exuded improved defending skills in recent times, will look to keep things spick and span in the defence and also bolster the midfield. The comeback man, Sandeep Singh, will be an added strength to the defence and so is Rupinder Pal Singh, who, like Raghunath, has shown marked improvement in his defending skills. Of course, all three provide huge utility to the side with their fierce drag-flicks.

The forward line may appear a tad in-experienced with the injury-induced absence of Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Danish Mujtaba. But, as they say, adversity always rings in an opportunity for someone else, and for recalled striker Shivendra Singh, the event will be a photo opportunity to make a big impression after his London Olympics disappointment.

SV Sunil and Dharamvir Singh will lend the experience quotient with talented youngsters like Chinglensana Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh complementing them.

A lot will be expected from Mandeep Singh after his HIL heroics for Ranchi Rhinos, and the 18-year-old coming out all guns blazing will be a massive thing for our forward line.

But the Indians would know that it won’t be easy to breach the Irish citadel, as they have a solid goalkeeper in David Harte – he was named the best goalkeeper in the New Delhi Round 2 event.

The Indian defence must watch out for prolific Irish striker Alan Southern – Southern was the joint top goal-scorer in the Round 2 event in New Delhi along with Vokkaliga Raghunath.

He was also one of the goal-scorers in Ireland’s stunning 3-2 romp over Germany.

The Irish strike force has been significantly beefed up by the return of Peter Caruth and Timothy Cockram, who missed the Round 2 event in New Delhi on account of injuries.

A winning start will give a real impetus to India’s World Cup qualifying hopes and the Blueshirts should not settle for anything less than that.