Testing times are here for India again. When the 7th Asia Cup hockey tournament begins at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from Friday, a lot is at stake for the host team.
After clinching bronze medals in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia and the Champions Challenge in Belgium, there seems to be some hope for Indian hockey, with Joaquim Carvalho as the chief coach. The Asia Cup then, is crucial for the defending champions as they seek to build on the gains made under Carvalho.
The champions in this event will not qualify for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi as this is only a world ranking event. The actual qualifying tournament will be in Kuala Lumpur in 2009. The importance then of the Chennai event is that, it can make things easier for the Indians to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The qualifiers are scheduled in February (Auckland), March (Santiago) and April (Kakamigahara, Japan). However, where India will play will be decided in the coming months and towards that end, they should do well here and gain international ranking points.
India play China in their first match on Friday evening. Quite often, India have shown a tendency to play a bad tournament when they lose the first match. That is where the challenge lies. Having lost to China in the Doha Asian Games, India know what China are capable of and cannot take them lightly. Also, if the Indians win against China, they can make it to the semifinals even if they lose to South Korea.
Good defence
The Chinese are fast and switch the ball from flanks quite well. Another tactic they employ is to move into the striking circle very quickly and force penalty corners. Against a smart-thinking Chinese forwardline, it would be all the more imperative for India to have a good defence. Former captain Dilip Tirkey and William Xalxo are solid defenders, while drag-flicker V R Raghunath and new-comer Jaswinder Singh can also bolste         r the defence. In the absence of Sandeep Singh, Raghunath will have to fire in the flicking department. If not, it will be left to Dilip to do the job. Adrian D'Souza would of course be the first choice goalkeeper.
Young forwardline
The forwardline is quite young and skilful, with veteran Prabhjot Singh bringing in the element of experience on the left flank. Also on the left is young S V Sunil from Karnataka, perhaps one of the best finds in recent times. The talented strike group of Tushar Khandekar, Roshan Minz and Shivendra Singh can form a deadly combo and they have been working towards playing in sync with each other. With China's weak point being their defence, the Indians should be looking to fire well. All in all, the Indian team looks fit and raring to go.
South Korea's style of play is similar to that of China. Their team is a mix of junior and senior players. Pakistan, the other contenders, are in the process of rebuilding their team under skipper and forward Rehan Butt. However, for all the three teams, it would be more of a practice tournament since they have all qualified for the Beijing Games.
The Malaysians are also in the process of rebuilding their team while the Japanese do not really pose a threat.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh complete the 11-team line-up.
Groupings:
Pool A: Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore. Pool B: Korea, India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
Friday's schedule: Malaysia vs Singapore 7.30 am; Bangladesh vs Thailand 9.30 am; Korea vs Sri Lanka 3.00 pm; Pakistan vs Hong Kong 5.00 pm; India vs China 7.00 pm.