A rest day in the middle of a hockey tournament usually means at least some of the teams turning up for optional, limited practice. That isn’t the case here with the Rajgir Sports Complex deserted on Wednesday as the teams preferred to focus on rest and rehabilitation.
With the official accommodation for the teams being in Gaya, the two-hour journey to the tournament venue is a big issue for all the players. While the complex itself is expected to be self-sufficient once it is fully operational, for now, the teams are getting innovative, trying to stay match-ready.
With just one turf and no place outside it, the players are often stretching and doing basic warm-up exercises in the narrow gallery in front of the dressing rooms.
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After the matches, they either leave immediately or settle down in the stands to recover a little. The narrow access road from the city to the venue is not easy to navigate and the almost two-kilometre distance from the main entrance to the turf is still a work in progress.
Given these constraints, it isn’t a surprise that the teams decided to visit the Mahabodhi Temple in Gaya instead as part of their recovery and recreation. With their next match on Thursday against Thailand, India can also afford to take it easy.
The host has a 100 per cent record in eight games between the two sides and Thailand, the lowest-ranked side in the competition, is expected to be an easy outing for the team.
The two games played so far, however, have been contrasting in terms of performances with several areas of concern and coach Harendra Singh admitted as much after India scraped past a fighting Korea on Tuesday.
“I am happy with the result and three points in the pocket but I think we could have scored at least seven or eight goals. Like the first match, they were rushing to score the goal and not making the right choice of space. They need to take some time. We will go back and look at the videos, hold individual meetings and try to polish the finer points to score more goals,” he admitted.
While he insisted there was no cause for concern in the penalty corner department – India has converted just three out of 19 so far – the numbers indicate it is not an area India can depend on to get its goals. On the other hand, India has conceded just three PCs and a PS so far but Korea’s 100 per cent conversion rate was a lesson for the Indian defence as well.
“For any defender, when you are tackling, you should always choose the right position. Protecting the goal is our first job but the two goals we conceded should not have been, our girls should have chosen the right position before tackling. We need to work on that,” he agreed.
Thailand may just be the opposition for the Indian team to get back into form and work on its chinks before the two big games in the league stage against China and Japan but the host should be aware of the dangers of complacency.
The Thais were crushed 15-0 by China but almost pulled off an upset against Japan before splitting points to prove they were not here to just make up the numbers. Also facing off on Thursday will be Korea and Malaysia while the two Paris Olympic teams China and Japan will square off in the day’s other game.
