India’s real challenge begins as Asia Cup hockey enters climactic stage

A 15-0 demolition of Kazakhstan notwithstanding, the Indian men would be aware that the real challenge to their dreams of winning the hockey Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Cup begins now. 

India will face defending champion Korea in its first Super 4s match on Wednesday, and regardless of the difference in current world rankings of the two sides – India is seventh to Korea’s 15th – the host will be aware of the pitfalls of either taking the contest too seriously or lightly.

The two teams have had contrasting routes to the next stage of the competition. India had to fight hard for its first two wins before a breezy outing to top the pool. Korea’s results, on the other hand, have been convincingly one-sided – whether in victory or defeat (to Malaysia). 

What has also been a constant is Korea’s attacking play and the willingness to take risks, a throwback to the earlier days when it was among the highest-ranked and fittest Asian teams.

Of course, the planning may change against a much-higher-ranked opposition, but India would welcome it. So far, its opponents have stuck to the standard low-ranked teams’ playbook – sit deep, defend in numbers, crowd your own circle and wait for space or mistakes to launch counters.

It has been to India’s credit to have been able to find, or create, the chances it did, especially against China and Japan. Any team that allows it to play its normal, open and fast hockey is likely to be to the host’s advantage.

Playing freely

There have been areas of concern in attack and defence, but coach Craig Fulton admitted that the Kazakh game gave India a chance to play freely and work on its scoring sharpness.

“You make a lot more connections, a bit more time and space, you are making better decisions and the guys have a better feel about it. You get more time on the field, more time to highlight some things… it’s actually a good challenge for the strikers when a goalkeeper comes out 7-8m every time… you have to be super sharp and adapt,” Fulton said.

The last time the two teams met in this same tournament at the same stage three years ago, they played out a hard-fought 4-4 draw, although India has had the upper hand in the four games since. “These are two different tournaments – first the pool stage and now this. You now have three games to get to the final; it’s a new tournament and needs new focus to figure,” Fulton added.

India will face China a second time later on in the Super 4s and, depending on the results, a likely third in the final. But before that, there will be Malaysia, the other unbeaten side in the tournament and the traditional banana peel team for India, who will be playing China in the day’s other Super 4s match. A convincing win against Korea will be a big step towards India’s Asia Cup redemption.

Wednesday’s matches: 5-8: Japan vs Taiwan (2.30 p.m.); Super 4s: Malaysia vs China (5 p.m.), India vs Korea (7.30 p.m.).