MARGAO
Former India hockey team coach Joaquim Carvalho has blamed the side's penalty corner conversion woes for the recent debacle in the FIH World Cup, where they lost in the quarterfinals.
Carvalho termed India's performance as "patchy, inconsistent". "There was a lack of execution and two or three players didn't fit in the scheme of things while some players were dropped after good showings in the Tokyo Olympics," Carvalho said.
"However, the main reasons were the abysmal rate of penalty corner conversion and the lack of
finishing by the forwards. Adding to this was the inconsistency in defending. The woes in penalty corner conversion were too evident as India scored just five goals from the 26 penalty corners they earned across four matches. It is less than one-fifth success rate which is unacceptable for a team seeking to go beyond the quarterfinals," said the Arjuna awardee.
"Of the five goals from the PCs, only two were from direct drag-flick -- one from captain Harmanpreet against Wales and the other from Varun Kumar against New Zealand. The remaining three were scored from the rebounds -- from the sticks of Amit Rohidas, Shamsher Singh and Sukhjeet Singh. Harmanpreet took most of India's PCs but could score just twice," Carvalho added.
"Though the penalty corner conversion rate has gone down for most of the teams in recent years due to better defending and the use of equipment, India's average of goals from PCs is too low as compared to other teams. Lack of variation in taking penalty corners and too much reliance on Harmanpreet cost India dear."
In the Tokyo Olympics, India had a fine drag-flicker in Rupinder Pal Singh along with Harmanpreet, and they had scored 10 goals from 31 PCs with a healthy one-third conversion rate. Harmanpreet had scored six from the PC in Tokyo to emerge as one of the most lethal drag-flickers in the world. He was named the FIH Player of the Year in the last two years on the basis of PC conversions and solid defending, but form deserted him, at least in drag-flick, in this World Cup. The Indian defensive unit did well in the first two pool matches -- against Spain and England -- with two consecutive clean sheets. India beat Spain 2-0 while holding a strong England to a goalless draw.
"It was harakiri after that as the Indian defence conceded two goals against 14th-ranked and tournament debutants Wales in the last pool match before letting in three against New Zealand to end their campaign. India squandered a two-goal lead twice -- 2-0 and then 3-1 -- to finish 3-3 at the end of regulation time before losing 4-5 in sudden death against the Black Sticks.
"The retirement of Rupinder and Birendra Lakra after Tokyo hit India hard as they were replaced in the World Cup team by the inexperienced Jarmanpreet Singh and Nilam Sanjeep Xess. Former captain Manpreet Singh, who will turn 31 in June, was also not at his best in the middle of the park. The lack of finishing is the main reason behind India's debacle as the hosts failed to convert too many chances," Carvalho said.
