Rio de Janeiro: India hockey is on the cusp of a big turnaround.
Though the Asian champions India have a daunting task when they face Belgium in the second quarter-final of the Olympic men’s hockey competition, a victory will be a huge boost to the game back home.
The victory may put hockey back on the pedestal as India's national sport, as it was few decades ago.
Despite their loss to New Zealand in its last preliminary, Belgium finished as winners of Pool A while India were fourth in Pool B after a lackluster draw with Canada.
The winners in this group and defending Olympic champions Germany will take on Pool A’s fourth ranked team New Zealand, whose stunning victory over Belgium secured them a place ahead of Great Britain.
A second place finish in Pool A has earned Spain a last eight meeting with Pan American champions Argentina, who finished third in Pool B, thanks to a narrow win over Ireland.
The last quarter-final will witness the two top ranked teams in world hockey – reigning world champions Australia and European winners the Netherlands – go head-to-head in a re-match of the 2014 World Cup final.
With historical edge being the only thing going for India, it isn’t going to be enough in the quarter-final against the Red Lions.
While India, the fallen giants, gave Canada an Olympic point for the first time, they earned first Olympic play-off spot since the 1980 Moscow Games.
Their simple mantra needs to be superior ball possession and effective set ups for the forwards by playmakers Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Danish Mujtaba and SK Uthappa. However, the injury to SV Sunil in the last game after he crashed into the signboards hurting his wrist is a major cause of concern. If he is ruled out, coach Roelant Oltmans will need to re-strategise his incision on the right wing.
Goalkeeper Sreejesh, with defenders Raghunath, Surender Kumar, Rupinder Pal, Harmanpreet and Kothajit, will be required to standby on constant vigil to parry the swift ball running, rotational and overlap skills of their opponents.
A victory here will take India to the semi-final at the Olympics for the first time since 1972 at Munich, even though they won the gold medal at Moscow in 1980, but that was a six nation round robin format where the two top teams, India and Spain, played the direct final.
“Canada was playing their last league match and they gave their 200 per cent. It was not that we played badly but we had some good opportunities to score, we missed out on crucial penalty corners which affected us but the team is 100 per cent ready both mentally and physically for the Belgium attack,” an affirmative Goalkeeper and Captain Sreejesh said after the match.
He, however, was quick to admit that the mood in the Indian team camp was upbeat and the men are excited to be part of the quarter-final line-up.
“The team is confident and very excited to play the quarter-finals. The way we have performed with consistency has given the team the motivation and self-belief to win. We need to give our 100 per cent on that day (Sunday) and that’s what we aim to do,” he stated.
On being inquired about his deputy SV Sunil’s injury-scare, Sreejesh said that there is no need to panic. “He is getting better. He had some pain in his wrist and there was some inflammation soon after the fall. But the scan did not show anything which means he is fit to play the Sunday’s quarter-final,” he said.
Though Belgium's only medal-winning performance in the Olympic Games came in 1920 when they won bronze, the team has tasted success over the recent past where they have given a tough fight to top teams like Australia, who they played in the Final of the FIH World Hockey League Final in Raipur last year.
Sreejesh feels they will be a tough side to beat. “We cannot say that they are ranked below us so they are an easy side to beat. Going by statistics, Belgium has won four matches in their pool and have lost only one. So it is a tough team to beat but I think it’s all about how we cope with pressure on that day and that will be the key point,” stressed the 28-year-old skipper.
Belgium lost their first three Olympic meetings to the Indians but their remarkable resurgence after an Olympic hiatus of 32 years between the Montreal and Beijing editions has planted them in the topmost echelon. Ten members of their fifth placed London 2012 squad, which effortlessly beat India 3-0, have been retained.
The Red Lions have had a wonderful start to their Olympic campaign with four consecutive wins against Great Britain, Australia, Spain and Brazil. Skippered by John-John Dohmen, who is making his third Olympic appearance, as are Thomas Briels, Cedric Charlier, Felix Denayer and Jerome Truyens, Belgium has impressed with their marksmanship, midfield and defensive prowess.
Coach Shane Mcleod will hope to start with a completely recovered Tom Boon from his hamstring injury damaging the femoral biceps in a warm-up game with Germany. He will be the key man alongside midfield orchestrator Arthur van Doren with the backing of Floren Van Aubel, Tanguy Cosyns, Emmanuel Stockbroekx, Thomas Briels and Simon Gougnard.