It will be a do-or-die battle when India take on hosts Chile in their last league match of the men’s hockey Olympic qualifying tournament here on Saturday.
A loss against Chile today could jeopardise their Olympic qualifying chances
SANTIAGO (Chile): It will be a do-or-die battle when India take on hosts Chile in their last league match of the men’s hockey Olympic qualifying tournament here on Saturday.
India might be just two matches away from qualifying for the Beijing Games, but it’s easier said than done as they first need to beat Chile, who will have the home support, and then come up against Great Britain again, who carry the psychological edge having beaten the Indians 3-2 on Thursday.
India have never missed an Olympics since their debut in 1928 and the consequences of a failure to do so are too damning to even visualise.
The situation is such that the Indians are virtually assured of a place in the final where they will renew their tussle with Great Britain. India are on nine points, the same as Austria but with a healthy and almost unassailable goal-difference. Austria need to beat Great Britain on Saturday and then hope for Chile to do the same against India. Should Austria lose to Great Britain, as is expected, then, it would pitchfork India into the final while rendering their match against Chile inconsequential.
Indian coach Joaquim Carvalho himself is surprised at the up-and-down performance of the team that appeared toothless against Britain the other day after a string of high-scoring victories. The dramatic drop in form showed the forwards in poor light as there was little or no coordination and only a few sporadic moves underlined the talent and potential that never really surfaced. The midfield play was rather ragged and the deep defence had to soak up considerable pressure that eventually told on them.
“Frankly, I am not worried or concerned that we lost the game, but was rather disappointed that the players did not restrain themselves and we needlessly took two yellow cards at a time when we were in control,” Carvalho said.
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