Analysis of the India-South Africa match reveals Indian women can play.
3 things were completely different.
What a difference a couple of days of rest makes or is it the coach who had time to review the tapes to understand their deficiencies, & try to correct their tactical mistakes , who gave them brilliant instructions or was it the quality of the competition, butIndia put on a sparkling performance. Not even the 2 flukey goals or a well executed rare conversion of a PC by their opponents, could stop Team India from coming away with a comprehensive win. It is not only that they won but the manner in which they won with a very effective & stingy defence all over the pitch, bodes well for the future, if this style & philosophy is sustained by the coach & the team.
Modern team games as exemplified by basketball teach you, that defence wins matches. We should give credence to their dictats as they have tremendous statistics & experience since in a single game upto 200 (points) ie “goals” are scored. So we all should heed their advice as gospel. Each of these “goals” have an attacking play against a defence that tries to defend the play. Kobe Byrant, the best player in the world is also the best defender in the world.
The biggest bugbear for India is their giving away of PCs, which with their traditionally poor defending against them, eventually, leads to a loss. In this game they gave away just 1 PC & that also was scored on. So comprehensive was the defence of the Indians that South Africa were limited to big hits to get the ball in the circle & could put together only a few well constructed moves. Those that resulted in goals were flukes or lucky balls or defensive mistakes. The greatest problem in Indian hockey in both men’s & women’s game is their inability to make defensive stops all over the pitch but mainly in midfield. So if the midfield perks up they not only win the match but they put up a pleasing performance most enjoyable to watch.
The biggest reason for this performance was the absolutely superlative play of the Indian midfield where Centre half Dipika Thakur put in an outstanding (Ajitpal Singh like) performance. Her defensive stops were superb. She plugged up that centrehalf position lanes like a rock. Her distribution was spot on & her play by example lead to the rest of the team getting into a groove. One cannot say less of her contribution since she literally made players around her relax & play their natural game. Her colleagues played their parts to the hilt with the defenders coming up with great performances, what with the reduced pressure on them– meaning that they could play more freely. Her colleagues in midfield, responded to her with Handa being the pick of the lot. She was all over the pitch, always on the other side of the pitch than Dipika, & formed a great tandem with her.
Poonam Rani, with her dribbling skills, is badly needed on the pitch for long periods since she can with her skills cause a lot of problems for her opponents. She needs to be given more experience playing centrally & needs to be taught to pass more. She has the potential of becoming one heck of a player. Ritu Rani & Chanchan also had their moments & put in a good performance. & Rani Deviagain confirmed that India now has a genuine striker (a potential superstar in the making). Her reverse hit goal with the goalkeeper in position & covering the angle, was absolutely stunning.
Most pleasing to watch was the ball rotation, movement & passing. Gone were the individual dribbles, players conserved their energy efficiently & took up defensive positions well, marking their opponents much better. Even the coach did his part by judicious substitutions, though some of the lesser players could have been afforded more time.
PC conversion was an astonishing 50%. Keeping ball possession towards the end of the game was effectively done. Since PC defense was not a factor one potential weakness was avoided.
The absence of Surinder Kaur was a blessing in disguise, since immediately the team became a passing team. Obviously proper drafting by India of a different type of player than a pure dribbler is the need of the hour, in both mens & womens hockey.
The official stats might show an equal amount of possession & circle penetrations by both teams. But the quality of the penetrations by the Indians was far superior.
What amount of influence the coach had in his instruction & in this game only others know but the team & their coach can easily review this game as a blueprint for the future. Well done Indian ladies!.
