Rio Olympics (hockey): Confident India take on formidable Netherlands next

Rio de Janeiro: Having virtually assured themselves a quarter-final berth, a confident India will take on current European champions and world No. 2 The Netherlands in the crucial Pool B encounter of the Olympic hockey tournament here on Thursday. The Dutch, along with Germany, are the only unbeaten sides in this pool though they shared spoils with Argentina in a hard fought 3-3 draw in their opener before thrashing Ireland 5-0 followed by the 7-0 rout of Canada thus placing them second on the leaderboard with seven points. India struggled against Ireland before scraping through 3-2 but choked against the double defending champions Germany 1-2 after Christopher Ruhr found the match winner three seconds on the clock. However, they came back stronger in their next outing against Argentina with a 2-1 scoreline after defending stoutly in the final stanza. They are now lying third in the pool with six points. With the knock out stage almost confirmed, India will have to carry forward the momentum with renewed vigour, determination and resilience in the face off with The Netherlands, who were back-to-back gold medalists at Atlanta and Sydney and have a squad containing a glittering array of world class talent. Their leading light is 2015 FIH Hockey Stars Player of the Year Robert van der Horst, while rapid striker Jeroen Hertzberger, skillful playmaker Billy Bakker, powerhouse defender turned penalty corner expert Mink van der Weerden and goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann are all hugely influential figures. Coached by Argentine Maximillian Caldas, Holland is the silver medalist from London 2012 and genuine contenders for the gold medal. Indian coach Roelant Oltmans is well versed with the Dutch style having been at the helm of their Olympic and World Cup successes at Atlanta and Utrecht respectively, and would have strategised the counter game plan. For the record, this will be their eleventh Olympic clash with India winning six and losing thrice with one draw. India’s last Olympic victory came at Los Angeles in 1984 with a 5-2 margin. Thereafter, they were at the receiving end losing out both at Athens and London. India will be required to exhibit flair, fluency and finesse in their attacks to outwit the sturdy Dutch midfield and defence. Their potent scoring weapon is the penalty corner conversion where Rupinder Pal and VR Raghunath will require picture perfect precision to beat Stockmann. The defensive structure will also need to give 100 per cent to block the lethal van der Weerden dragflicks and onslaughts by the rival forwards. The results in the Pool A preliminaries have not gone according to script so far with favourites Australia, succumbing to successive losses against Spain and Belgium, uncomfortably placed with three points from as many matches. India should not be thinking about whom they play in the quarterfinal at this moment because there is very little separating those who make it to the last eight. Meanwhile, a confident Indian captain PR Sreejesh has said, “We are only done with three matches and have two more to go. We need to play harder and better because it will determine whom we play against in the quarterfinals. The higher we finish in the points table, the lesser ranked team will play with us from the other pool." However, Sreejesh was quick to admit that the win against Argentina, who had held India 3-3 in the Six Nations Tournament in Valencia ahead of the Olympics, has brought some relief. “If you see, the team has gradually improved from where we started. The opening match with Ireland was tough with a close win. But the second match against Germany was totally different. We had improved considerably from the first match though we did not score as many goals. In the third match, we scored and also played well in all the areas. I can see the consistency in the team and the way we are performing is instilling confidence in every player. If we keep up this momentum, then definitely I feel we can do wonders,” stated the 28-year-old custodian. Sreejesh, however, did not deny the team’s heartbreak after a 2-1 loss against Germany, who scored the winning goal just three seconds to the hooter. “It was not about the loss but the goal we conceded in the last three seconds that hurt us badly. The game was under our control and we let it slip away. I was disappointed after that goal simply because in the league stage every match is important. But when the team met for a post-match meeting, we told ourselves that we needed to focus on the future matches. It helped us recover in time to face Argentina,” he said.