Indian hockey since they ceased to be the world champions was succinctly summed up in the 60 minutes played under the lights on a breezy night against Australia. Suffering, making a comeback, and holding onto hope until things finally fall apart.
At least two things were present at the Kalinga on Thursday that aren’t typically connected to an Indian performance versus Australia: hope and a comeback. That would be the one thing for those holding onto some silver lining from India’s 4-6 loss in the FIH Pro League.
Even though India was excellent at times, the tennis set-like scoreline doesn’t adequately capture their accomplishments or the injustice the result may have caused to the players who gave it their all on the field.
During certain moments in the game, one of the most lethal goal scorers in hockey history, Blake Govers, looked like a goalie attempting to stop a penalty kick. Lifting both arms, he danced while wildly swinging them in the air.
The player who scored two goals in the opening two minutes of the game wasn’t merely trying to confuse his opponents, in contrast to the cunning keepers. A group of agitated players also made a pathetic attempt to block a pass.
Australia demonstrated exceptional tactical ingenuity, particularly when playing the Kookaburras, to turn the dark sky above into their canvas despite Australia intercepting everything India played along the dark blue turf. India resorted to an aerial pass strategy, which they have attempted previously but not often against Australia.
It was fascinating to watch every moment. Australia accelerated more quickly than a sprinter in the 100 meters. Within the first three minutes, Govers had doubled their lead: the first came from a penalty corner, which was a soft goal that keeper Krishan Pathak could have done better, and the second came from a thunderous field goal.
There were worries that Australia would punish them again after the two goals in quick succession. More so because Australia was playing with 22 players on the field instead of 11; they were intercepting passes with ease and closing down Indian players as soon as they received the ball.
In order to throw off Australia’s rhythm, Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh started to play long floating passes. And disturb they did. The ball was lobbed deep into the Australian “D” by the two most seasoned outfield players, leaving the defenders deep in doubt. The Australian stick, which was rooted to the ground in expectation of the customary, grounded passes, was beaten by other Indian players as well, even with simple, short passes.
In doing so, India’s players displayed flawless technical skill as they made the most of the five-meter aerial ball rule in hockey. According to the rules, a player cannot cross the opponent’s 5 meter zone until the aerial ball is under control and on the ground.
The recipients of Harmanpreet, Manpreet, and sometimes Hardik Singh’s long passes positioned themselves astutely inside the Australian box, providing them with enough room to launch attacks.
India scored four goals, with three coming from aerial balls.
In the first, Sumit won a penalty corner after Matt Dawson was fouled, thanks to a cross-field aerial pass from Hardik, who was on the left. With his flick, Harmanpreet, who seems to be unstoppable right now, found the inside of the post at an angle.
Minutes later, there was an equalizer. A defensive lob ball was played by Jarmanpreet Singh to Harmanpreet, who then lobbed it forward in the direction of Raj Kumar Pal. The midfielder won a corner by spotting a defender’s foot. Sukhjeet Singh scored the goal after a prolonged period of pressure when he shot between Australian keeper Andrew Charter’s legs to complete the move.
The 20th minute saw Manpreet make an aerial pass to give India the lead. The Indian receiver’s 5m space was invaded by an Australian defender, leading to a penalty corner that Harmanpreet again converted.
India had the Australians pinned to the ground until they could adhere to this strategy. They accomplished the uncommon and unimaginable by turning a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead after Mandeep Singh’s excellent field goal was made possible by a Harmanpreet pass that split the defence.
However, India collapsed the instant they abandoned their strategy and their mainstay. All Australia needed to do was better control India’s landing zones on lobbed passes to completely undermine the plan.
India put an end to any notion that they had finally figured out how to take on the Australians in a matter of minutes. India’s progress to date has demonstrated the vast amount of ground yet to be covered.
Pro League performances do have a rider, after all—the competition serves as a test run for major events. However, the data is accurate. Australia has scored five goals or more against India seven times since the Tokyo Olympics; on three of those occasions, they scored seven.
And after the game, India coach Craig Fulton summarized that a team cannot expect to win if they give up six goals.
