Things could not have got worse for Indian Hockey team as they finished at the bottom of the table of the London Olympic Games.
India lost 2-3 to South Africa in the 11th -12th classification match to crash to their sixth straight defeat at the Games. They are now the only team in the competition who have failed to secure a single win.
India played in the Olympics after a gap of eight years after failing to qualify for Beijing Games has touched a new low as their previous worst came at Atlanta Games 1996 where they finished eight.
India who entered the competition ranked 10 were never a strong contender for a podium finish but then no one expected such a debacle to happen.
There might be lot of reasons why India Team failed in London but then here are some of the possible reasons as to why we think the men in blue slumped in London:
Failure to learn from problems: After finishing third in the Azlan Shah Tournament, they had an appalling run in the build-up to the Games. They somehow never learnt from their flaws and paid the price in London where all the teams meant business right from the word go.
Frail defence: Known for its weak defence, the team never gave it a thought and rather went in with makeshift defenders and relied too much on the strikers. The faulty decision reflects on the results as India conceded 18 goals in comparison to six scored.
Faulty execution: India did start on a reasonably good note against the Dutch and lost 2-3 and it looked like that they would pose a threat to the teams as the tournament progresses. But then it was however not the case and they crashed to one defeat after another.
The main reason behind the slump is due to the inappropriate game plan. All their departments were at their awful best and never tried to learn from their mistakes. They failed collectively as a unit and lacked focus. And after every match Nobbs could not help but say that the team never followed the plan and questioned the player’s commitment.
Well lot say that the team had got enough exposure events but the fact is Nobbs never actually had enough events under his belt to test his team against tough opponents and when he got some in May; it was too late for him to bring a change
Lack of focus: They were playing as though they had already triumphed and were in it just for the sake of participating. And this started right after the Olympic qualifiers in New Delhi. They thought a good show at the qualifying event has put them in the league along with the best teams, but that was not it as they failed to realise the reality and paid the price for.
Fitness woes: And a key reason for Indian Hockey Team’s slump is their fitness. They have been under the scrutiny of physical trainer David John of Australia and he did the best that he could. They did improve, but then went overboard with it and the result was there in front of everyone’s eyes. They could not match physical prowess of the rival teams and were found wanting on the pitch.
By Indian Sports News Network
