Sports

Roger Binny is expected to replace Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president

Sourav Ganguly

Roger Binny is expected to replace Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president

Team SW October 14, 2022

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has endorsed Roger Binny's candidacy to succeed Sourav Ganguly as president...

India takes two steps forward and one step back at the Women’s Hockey World Cup

India takes two steps forward and one step back at the Women's World Cup of Hockey. Even though India won a lot of penalty corners during the World Cup, they were unable to take advantage of them. With only 39 seconds left in the third quarter, Vandana Katariya stood on the left side of the goalmouth. In the pool game of the Women's Hockey World Pro League in the Netherlands, she would pounce on a well-placed deflection and score a pouncing equalizer to tie the game at 1-1. The commentator would breathe a sigh of relief when the last of India's 5 penalty corner chances went in. Experts would talk about how India's Dutch coach Janneke Schopman used to score off of similar changes when she was a player. But there was a nervous acceptance of the 1-1 draw, which was a relief. India got an amazing 31 PC chances on either side of the China game. They changed three. During his time as coach, Schopman saw India take two steps forward and one step back. There were many chances to score, but only a few of them were taken. In a later match, India was trying to catch up to New Zealand's lead. Katariya and Lalremsiami had already scored two great field goals, so Gurjit Kaur, India's designated drag-flicker, flicked one to the low right corner. The ball slid past two sets of defenders' feet and the goalkeeper's outstretched leg. The goal was like threading a needle, but it couldn't hide the fact that only 1 out of 15 goals were scored. The Indian PC takers didn't try hard enough against Spain, so none of the 4 chances they had to score were successful. When England held India to a draw after yet another Katariya steal on a rebound, the rushers on the other team had that extra split second to get into position to block the slapped shots. One of the seven PC shots in the English game was a goal. Schopman won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics (beating China in the finals), and he likes to take PCs with a lot of different moves. He will be happy that the Indian women are getting the ball quickly and meaningfully into the D with speed and intensity. But the conversions, which are often just routine set pieces, lack bite and accuracy, even if the complex variations will take a while to come together. The low conversion rate, along with the fact that field goals weren't exactly falling from the sky, could have cost India a direct spot in the quarterfinals. This could be important in the coming months, with the Commonwealth Games coming up. Gurjit had a lot to live up to. Gurjit, the big-time player for India, first stood out against the United States in the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics. She is mostly responsible for getting India those goals. Atleast till Monika Malik steps up. She became a big deal because drag-flickers are so rare in India. If there were stages of a team's development, India's women's team would be where the men's team was before the 2012 Games, when Sandeep Singh took on the PC job. Most teams get to this point in their development, when they don't have enough flowing field goals and need to make up for it with a lot of PC setpiece opportunities. India is getting a lot more PCs because they are not only running in from the sides but also straight down the middle of the field. They are also entering the D quickly and finding the foot. Compared to the campaign for the Tokyo Olympics, the PC count of the chances won is a clear plus. But as India tries to build on its fourth-place finish and keep the momentum going, the PC conversion becomes a key statistic and a spark plug. Gurjit and Deep Grace Ekka work well together in the set piece, but their defensive skills will need to be improved all the time. Another problem is that the rushers get extra milliseconds because the hits aren't always hard. As are Gurjit's straight, low (knee or waist length) flicks and angles of the PC push, which are a bit predictable. Gurjit is a little too comfortable with her height, so she will have to work harder than just keeping her stock near the ground or just above it. She uses a nice, sneaky turn of the stick that doesn't show that the ball will go into the near right corner. But she'll need more changes, like Katariya diving around, pouncing on more rebounds, or reorienting deflections. The defensive mistakes, which are similar to the complaints about Sandeep Singh watching the ball, mean that Savita has to make double and triple saves in a row. But teams like England, New Zealand, and Australia can run just as fast in the last quarter. This makes it twice as hard for players like Gurjit. If the number of PC conversions goes up, she might feel better about her defense. Still a lot to do. India won't be in the FIH Pro League next season because they failed to stay in the ranking bracket, which means there will be less top-level games. That means they will have less chances to test their PC progress, even though they will still be working on the dragflicks in the background. The CWG could be one of the last tests for a very long time. There aren't many drag-flickers coming up through the junior ranks that can be seen right away. And India's forwards aren't exactly setting the blue turf on fire; they're not very calm when things get tough and they're close to the goal. Katariya is having a good time right now, and Lalremsiami knows how to hunt. But just making field goals won't be enough to cut into a team's lead. Rani Rampal, India's creative force for the last ten years who could make chances out of thin air and set them up for her teammates, is still not there. This makes things even worse. India will have to make important decisions about whether Rani can be used to create those chances, even if it's only for 30 minutes at a time. The fact that PCs are becoming more popular is both good and bad. There are many chances, but fewer dances to the goal

India takes two steps forward and one step back at the Women’s Hockey World Cup

Team SW July 12, 2022

Even though India won a lot of penalty corners during the World Cup, they were unable to...

When Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are in the team, Ishan Kishan says he “would not ask for a spot.”

Ishan Kishan

When Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are in the team, Ishan Kishan says he “would not ask for a spot.”

editor June 10, 2022

India vs South Africa: Ishan Kishan had played a 76-run knock against South Africa to help India...

Andrew Symonds was in a car accident and a local man says he tried to save him but couldn’t

Andrew Symond

Andrew Symonds was in a car accident and a local man says he tried to save him but couldn’t

editor May 16, 2022

Symonds, the only person in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said in a...