London: Back on the world stage following a series of consistent shows, an ever-improving India will strive to unsettle some top teams in the Hockey World League Semifinals, where they face lowly Scotland in their campaign opener, here Wednesday. It is an important event for India as they will strive to assess their strengths and weakness ahead of the HWL Finals this year and the 2018 World Cup where as hosts India are guaranteed a place in both the events.
Sixth ranked India will definitely try and start on a winning note when they face World No. 23 Scotland at the Lee Valley’s Hockey and Tennis Centre here. The only thing in contention is how big a margin India will strive for when they face Scotland. In the only warm up game they played India defeated England 3-1, Tuesday.
“For doing well in tournaments like this we need to have a higher percentage of conversion rates, both in penalty corners and field goals,” India’s high performance director Roelant Oltmans told reporters here Wednesday. “If we can do that and stop conceding unnecessary goals close to the end of the game everything is possible with this team,” Oltmans added.
India are placed in Pool B alongside World No. 4 the Netherlands, Canada, arch rivals Pakistan and Scotland while Pool A features reigning Olympic champions Argentina, hosts England, Korea, China and Malaysia.
The team’s real challenge will be to get past an unpredictable Pakistan June 18 before they face the Netherlands, June 20. “You always want to start well in the pool stage. Playing a tournament like the Hockey World League Semifinals is always challenging with a number of strong teams in the competition,” Oltmans pointed out.
However, even before the tournament started, India were hit hard with ace drag-flicker Rupinderpal Singh and SK Uthappa being ruled out of the event (see box). In Rupinderpal’s absence the onus will be on young Harmanpreet Singh to convert the short corners. “He is young, he is talented and I don’t see any reason why he can’t stand up to the challenge,” Oltmans asserted. “These are the types of situations that youngsters should relish.”
Rupi, Uthappa to miss event
London: Ace drag-flicker and defender Rupinder Pal Singh, and midfielder SK Uthappa have been ruled out of the Hockey World League Semifinals commencing here Thursday. The former has suffered a hamstring injury while the latter had to return home due to a personal emergency. Rupinder will be replaced by defender Jasjit Singh Kular who has played 46 internationals. In place of Uthappa, Sumit, who made his senior team debut at the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament, will come in.
Press Trust of India
