FIH Series Finals: Flaws out in the open as India struggle to overcome Poland

Hockey fans in the state of Odisha have, over the years, displayed an unequivocal affinity for the game in more ways than one. The fury of Cyclone Ockhi failed to dampen the spirits of the locals who braved the weather in order to cheer their heroes on during the Hockey World League Finals in December 2017 - and followed it up a year later by creating a mesmerizing atmosphere which no doubt inspired the home team during Odisha 2018. Yet, all of those who turned up on Friday evening hoping to celebrate a handsome Indian win were in for a massive disappointment as Graham Reid's boys who sported a darker shade of blue failed to match the vibrancy of the new colors they had donned. The opposition - at least in the pool stages - was never expected to stretch the Indians beyond a point, and in spite of maintaining a solid structure in the opening quarter, the Russians eventually ended up surrendering meekly as the

FIH Series Finals got underway on Thursday. The match against Poland was expected to be no different - especially since Karol Sneizek's side were never in the contest, at Ipoh, when Vivek Sagar's goal in the first minute had opened the floodgates for the Indians. At the Azlan Shah Cup, in March, a hapless Polish side who had confirmed their participation at the eleventh hour were clearly not prepared for an Indian onslaught that finally resulted in a ten-goal demolition - at Bhubaneswar, however, the Europeans obviously had a plan which exposed several chinks in India's armour. Graham Reid's boys, who began with a high press, were undone by some close marking with one red shirt positioned beside every blue jersey in the Polish half. The game plan of the Europeans was obviously to contain the hosts, but in the first quarter they did so by maintaining possession smartly and made the Indians chase the ball in vain. Manpreet Singh and co. managed to direct just a couple of shots on target in the first fifteen minutes, and a blank score sheet at the end of the quarter was nothing short of a victory for the Poles who were up against a side that are sixteen places ahead, as far as the world rankings are concerned. It was the skipper whose tenacity finally paid off after he managed to deflect Amit Rohidas' flick past the Polish goalkeeper, but the joy was short-lived as Mateusz Hulboj scored an equalizer which stunned the crowd at the Kalinga Stadium, and exposed the unmistakable flaws in the Indian deep defence. It was captain courageous, Manpreet who found the mark yet again to restore the lead - and reinstate a semblance of sanity to the proceedings with the Indians dishing out a performance that clearly won them no admirers. Ramandeep Singh who looked fit as a fiddle in the opening match failed to direct a shot on target from inside the striking circle and seemed to be playing to the galleries by attempting to weave his way around the Polish defence all by himself. The striker from Jalandhar had attempted to go it alone in the

opening match as well, refusing to assist Gusahibjit who was aptly positioned in front of goal - and the Indian think-tank obviously have quite a few issues to address before the knockouts begin next week. Memories of the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast came back to haunt the Indians who managed 32 circle entries, but had only 3 goals to show for all their efforts, thanks to some horrendous finishing by the men up front who seemed to have ironed out that particular deficiency under Harendra Singh's tutelage. Yet, it is far too early to reach any definitive conclusions with regard to coach Graham Reid's methods as the Australian has barely had a couple of months to prepare a team that is unlikely to encounter any serious threats in the FIH Series Finals. The Poles seemed intent on defending their citadel after Harmanpreet's PC goal midway through the third quarter, and refused to press forward which may have offset the plans of the hosts to an extent. Sterner tests await the Indians in the next round of the Olympic qualifiers - for now though, Asia's top-ranked team would do well to end the pool phase with a fluent show against minnows Uzbekistan on Monday.