India captain Harmanpreet Singh insists today’s top-of-the-table clash against in-form Malaysia is not a contest between two accomplished drag flickers, but a clash of two good hockey teams
Harmanpreet Singh (left) celebrates after scoring India’s only goal v Japan at Chennai on Friday. Pic/AFP
India’s third match of the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here, against Malaysia on Sunday is a clash of contrasting fortunes.
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While the Malaysians are leading the six-team points table with six points after two-out-of-two wins (they beat Pakistan 3-1 and China 5-1), India are in second spot with four points after an opening 7-2 win over China followed by an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Japan.
The Malaysians also have their tails up when it comes to individual performances, with the fleet-footed Firhan Ashari leading the list of goal-scorers with four strikes to his name this far. India, on the other hand, don’t have much to brag about. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh has scored thrice so far (twice against China and once against Japan), all off his dreaded drag flicks, but not before the Japanese defence made the hosts sweat to earn that lone goal from as many as 15 penalty corners.
Malaysia’s Razie Rahim
Malaysia, meanwhile, have their own drag flick specialist to boast of in Razie Rahim, a 35-year-old veteran of 312 international caps, who loves troubling India. The last time these two nations met, at the Asia Cup at the GBK Sports Complex in Jakarta in June last year, Razie scored a fine hat-trick in a keenly contested 3-3 draw. Four years before that, Razie was instrumental again when Malaysia beat India via shootout in the semi-finals of the Asian Games at the same venue.
India captain Harmanpreet however, refused to be drawn into this being a clash between two accomplished drag flickers. “This match is not about Razie v Harmanpreet, it’s about Malaysia v India,” he said at a press conference after the 1-1 draw against Japan on Friday.
The skipper added that his team played the Japan match as per instructions received from the team management and was hopeful that they would fare better against the Malaysians.
India coach Craig Fulton, meanwhile, will be hoping that his forwards make more use of their licence to shoot. “We wanted to win this game [v Japan], so a draw is not a nice feeling, but we will be ready for the next one [v Malaysia]. We want our players to shoot. They have the licence to shoot, but it’s up to them to make that decision,” he said.
Also Read: It’s not a nice feeling: Coach Fulton
Victory here will also decide who tops the points table, at least momentarily.
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