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India’s 1-7 drubbing at the hands of Australia in the men’s hockey preliminary round match at the Olympics 2021 has to some extent exposed chief coach Graham Reid's game plan.
The only consolation for the coach from Australia after Sunday’s match was that it was a group stage match. A similar performance in the first knockout match would be suicidal.
India scored a 3-2 win over New Zealand in their opening Pool A match on Saturday.
But India’s experienced defense line that boasts players like Rupinder Pal Singh looked porous against the Australians.
Skipper Manpreet Singh couldn’t do much in midfield either. The forward line wasn't fed enough balls and the lack of good coordination resulted in just one field goal.
The performance will send the coach back to the drawing board to chalk out a new strategy for India's remaining pool matches.
India’s poor trapping and holding the ball too long are other issues the team management might have to address.
Nothing worked right for India on Sunday. Dilpreet Singh reduced the margin of defeat via a field goal halfway through the one-sided contest.
After the win over New Zealand, a good performance was expected against the Australians on Sunday.
However, that didn’t happen. India squandered as many as half-a-dozen penalty corners. Poor penalty corner conversion has been the bane of Indian hockey in the past.
Despite having the luxury of a half-a-dozen coaching staff, including scientific advisers, the national team is yet to master this important aspect of the game.
India had the upper hand in striking circle penetration, entering the striking circle 24 times, compared to 22 by Australia. This advantage too went abegging due to a lack of coordination.
Australia had the advantage of ball possession in the first two quarters, approximately 56 percent against India’s 44 percent.
Australia were leading 4-1 at the end of the second quarter. The eventual winners pumped in three more goals in the next two quarters.
Australia had beat Japan 5-3 in their opening match.
India next play Spain on Tuesday.
