Sardar Singh on Indian hockey at CWG 2018: Combination of problems

Sardar Singh

India hockey star Sardar Singh, 31, is known to be accurate - both in his reading of the game on the field and analysis off it. When mid-day asked him his thoughts about the Indian hockey team's dismal fourth-place showing at the recent XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, the midfield maestro summed it up perfectly in one word: "Disappointing."

Two-time silver medallists
Silver medallists in the previous two editions of the CWG, the Indian team did not just finish outside the podium Down Under, skipper Manpreet Singh's World No. 6 side even ended up losing to teams below them in the rankings - England (No. 7) and New Zealand (No. 9). Worse still, they drew 2-2 with arch-rivals and No. 13 Pakistan and needed to play out of their skins to emerge 4-3 victors against Wales, a team ranked way below, at No. 24.

Members of the Indian hockey team are dejected after losing to NZ in the CWG semi-finals at Gold Coast, Australia recently. Pic/AFP

Sardar, one of the faces of Indian team across the last decade or so, was not picked among the 18 to travel to Australia amidst whispers that Hockey India had awarded him the captain's arm band for one last time at the preceding Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia where the team finished fifth. The thinking among the powers that be was also to transfer the national team's responsibility to younger legs. That those legs would wilt under pressure was probably not anticipated.

Plans not executed
Sardar hit the nail on the head when asked what went wrong with Team India Down Under. "Look, the coach [Sjoerd Marijne] would have had his plans and discussed it with the players, like we normally do at team meetings before matches. Then, the players would have formed smaller groups comprising forwards, defenders and so on, and discussed their plans. And the boys did their best to execute these plans. But what actually matters most is the combinations. They just did not come through," said Sardar, who said he watched just two India matches on TV - the league encounter against Wales (India won 4-3) and the bronze medal play-off against England (India lost 1-2).

"As a player, the result hurts a lot because this is such a prestigious tournament. It comes once in four years. It's not like a cricket match, where if you score a duck on one day and can go on to score a 50 or a century in the next match a few days later. One of the greatest joys for a sportsman is to win a medal for his country, so this is definitely disappointing," he added. So, does this debacle leave the door slightly ajar for his return to the national team?

Return to Team India
"I don't look at it like that. I'm still training hard as I always do. I have to first make it to the core group of players, who will then be up for selection. It would be great to be back. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics still remains my ultimate dream," he signed off.

Indian men's hockey team at 2018 CWG
04
Number of field goals scored in six matches

10
Number of penalty corners converted from 39 earned

05
Number of field goals conceded

31
Number of penalty corners conceded in six matches

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