Hockey World League Final: India aim for second successive bronze

BHUBANESWAR: Call it a twist of fate or just plain unlucky. Both India and Germany in the space of 24 hours have learnt that no matter how much you prepare for a game, in the absence of the cruel element called 'luck', things can go awry in no time. India, after a mixed round-robin stage, made a resounding comeback to dump tournament favourites Belgium in a heart-stopping quarterfinal of the Hockey World League Final.Next in line was Argentina whose only defeat of a successful Rio Olympics came at the hands of India. On Friday, in the first semi-final, India were forced to face two rivals - Argentina and rain. And they took more time to adapt to the latter. Consequently, they lost 0-1, a slim margin which they so spiritedly tried overcoming in the final quarter.
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A day after India's defeat, Germany faced Australia in the second semi-final. They were hit by health issues much before they had even left their team hotel for the Kalinga Stadium. Four of their top players including captain Martin Haner were under the grip of high fever rendering them unfit to play. They were forced to play regular goalkeeper Mark Appel as an outfield player. They fought hard, just like India. They managed to hold a prowling Kookaburras for a majority of the contest but something had to give and it was the Germans who blinked first. They eventually lost by a margin of 0-3.
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Who is to say what would have happened had the rain not affected India's match and Germany had fielded a fully fit squad in their respective semi-finals.
The two teams might have felt undone by the elements not under their control but they do have a chance to sign off the tournament on a high. Sunday gives them a chance to wipe off the bittersweet memories of their last matches. India, though seem to be the better placed of the two to finish on a winning note. This is despite India putting up their worst performance of the tournament so far against Germany in a 0-2 defeat earlier in the HWL Final. A crucial factor that can work in favour of India is the fact that Germany are still not confident whether they will be able to field a full squad on Sunday and are afraid they might be left to contest a crucial match with a depleted squad second day in a row.
Putting these factors aside, it should not take anything away from India who have vastly improved after failing to record a single win in the pool stage. They beat the best team of the ongoing tournament - Belgium - and will end as the only team to do so. They battled rain, cold winds and water-logged pitch, to impress in a semi-final defeat to Argentina despite conditions not allowing them to play their best hockey.
They conceded just one penalty corner against the Olympic gold medallists but unfortunately their rivals converted it which eventually made the difference. They attacked and attacked from the third quarter and came close to breathing life in the match. Alas, that wasn't to be the case.
What's certain is that the crowd will again pack the stadium to back them as they have done before, even under heavy rains and cold winds. Now is the chance for hosts to finish the year on a positive note and they know Germany are a defensive team. They like to sit deep so the strategy will revolve around breaking their wall, concede less penalty corners and then their own defence will have to keep improving which they have after a horror show against England and then Germany [in round-robin phase].
This will be India's final match of the year and their aim will be to finish with a medal before they embark on a busy year that will see them competing in Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Cup.
The summit clash, later Sunday, fittingly, is between the world's current top two teams. Defending champions and world no. 1 Australia will be aiming to keep the title with them, winning the HWL Final for the second time in a row before it gives way to Hockey Pro League. While world no. 1 Argentina will aim to win another major title to cement their status as the numero uno of world hockey.