India wrapped up their European tour with a 4-3 win over Austria on Wednesday at Amstelveen, Netherlands, with midfielder and vice-captain Chinglensana Singh scoring the winner for India 10 seconds from time. Chinglensana and Ramandeep Singh scored two goals apiece for India, who came back from a 1-0 deficit to lead 3-1 going into the last quarter, before Austria, coached by former India coach Cedric D'Souza, posted a spirited fightback in the final quarter to take the game to the brink.
India, who began the tour with defeats in their first two matches to Olympic silver-medallists Belgium, finished off with three successive victories. The score lines aside, there were several positives to take out of the Indian performance.
New-look India fought hard
The biggest takeaway from the five-match series was the exposure gained by the new players in the Indian team, five of whom were part of the junior World Cup squad that won the event in Lucknow last December.
There were 10 changes overall from the squad that could only manage a sixth-place finish at the World League Semi-finals in London in June. Six debutants took to the field in Boom against fifth-ranked Belgium for Roelant Oltmans' sixth-ranked team on August 9.
Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera was somewhat to blame for conceding the only goal in the last minute of the match, but the man who converted the penalty corner for the hosts was Tom Boon, considered among the best exponents of the drag-flick in the game. Defenders Varun Kumar and Dipsan Tirkey also impressed in a solid first game for India, as did strikers Gurjant Singh and Armaan Qureshi and midfielder Nilakanta Sharma.
Goals from all quarters
Barring the first match of the tour, India scored in each game. Belgium were the only team that frustrated India successfully, with Armaan's first goal in India colours giving his team the lead in the second match in Boom. India were left to rue a poor second quarter, which allowed Belgium back into the match with a 3-1 lead that they preserved through till the end.
The floodgates truly opened in Netherlands, with four goals against the Dutch in Waalwijk, two more in Amstelveen against them on August 14 and then four against Austria on Wednesday. Of India's 11 goals overall, there was a generous spread of eight scorers. The experience of captain Manpreet Singh was critical in the 4-3 win over Netherlands, where he scored two, while Ramandeep and Chinglensana contributed with braces of their own on the final day. Armaan, Varun and Gurjant all got their first goals in India colours, with Varun's drag-flicks playing a key role in the absence of India's usual battery of penalty-corner specialists. India scored five goals from action initiated during penalty corners, suggesting an improvement over one of their deficiencies in London two months ago.
India never gave up against pedigreed opposition
Even as India fielded a young squad, all of their opposition teams fielded what could be called their best teams. The European Championships are set to start in Amsterdam from August 19, and that is why India got a chance to play higher-ranked opposition in Belgium and Netherlands, ranked fourth, and in Austria (22), one of the most rapidly-improving teams in the continent, with all fielding the teams they would be going into the continental event with.
India fell behind in three of the five matches, but won two of them, identical scores of 4-3 against Netherlands and Austria -- matches where the opposition scored early in the first quarter -- emphasising the ability in this Indian team to force the pace even when trailing. The only match they lost after conceding first was the 1-0 loss to Belgium, where Boon scored in the 60th minute, leaving little time for a reaction.
The Indians themselves scored inside the first four minutes in two of the games, and while they allowed Belgium back in to win 3-1, they were more professional against the Dutch, scoring a second goal in the fourth quarter to take the sting out of the hosts.
Where they go from here is critical
When India announced the team for the European tour, the investment on youth was noticeable, as was the message to experienced members of the squad like Sardar Singh and SV Sunil. The accent on bringing more youngsters into the national setup was clear, especially with the World League Final later this year and the World Cup next year both set to take place in India.
With the Asia Cup in Dhaka in October, India will get another chance to give these young players another chance to experience the pressures of international hockey, this time in a competitive environment and against more varied styles of play.
It will be a brave but pragmatic decision to stick with the young brigade, while allowing more rotation among the experienced players. The competition for places would work well in view of the depth of talent India have.