'We were pitted against 13 players in the final'
''We were pitted against 13 players in the
final, but we still gave a tremendous performance,'' Indian junior
hockey team captain Baljit Singh Saini told reporters in New Delhi
on Tuesday.
The Indian team, which finished runners-up in the 6th junior
World Cup at Milton Keynes, was given a rousing reception at the Indira Gandhi international airport. It was after a very long time that an Indian team had received
such a warm welcome. ''It feels good,'' the captain said.
Saini's reference to 13 players was obviously directed towards
the two umpires who officiated in the final which India lost to
Australia 2-3. ''The umpiring left much to be desired, it was very
poor supervision in the final,'' Saini said.
But he was thrilled with the team's display. ''Before leaving for Milton Keynes I had
promised that we would give a good
performance in the World Cup and I am very pleased that we have
not let our countrymen down,'' the skipper said. "It was after 17 years (since the 1980 Moscow Olympics) that any
Indian senior/junior hockey team reached the final of any world
competition and this itself is a great achievement.'',
Though he was disappointed that India did not not win the title, Saini said, "I feel on top of the world as my team gave a world class performance.''
He, however, admitted that penalty corner conversions were his team's biggest
weakness: ''I have no hesitation in admitting that we fared poorly in
penalty corner conversion. This was one grey area which affected us
most.'' The Indians wasted 12 penalty corners, including two in the last minute, in the final.
The captain had a word of praise for forward Rajiv Mishra
who was the top scorer in the championship with nine goals.
''Rajiv played superbly. In fact, the team clicked well when it was
needed most,'' he said, adding that apart from forwards,''our midfield
was also good.''
''Though we lost our first match against Spain," he said,"the boys did not lose heart and displayed tremendous resilience in the remaining matches. Germany was the toughest team in the tournament and we played a great match to defeat them in the semi-finals.''
Mishra, Saini and Dilip Tirkey have been selected for the World XI on the basis of
their performance in the world championship.
Coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran was also critical of the umpiring. "In the
final," he said, "several decisions went against us. We were denied two clear
strokes, otherwise the result could have gone in our favour.''
Apart from the poor umpiring, Bhaskaran -- who led the Indian team to a gold in the Moscow Olympics -- admitted that ''our inability
to take advantage of the 12 penalty corners also
cost us the title.''
What made him most happy, Bhaskaran said, was the way '' the boys
fought back after trailing a goal or two. They never showed any sign
of giving up and that is what matters in this level of competition.''
''One good thing about the junior players," he added, "is that they listen to
the coach and play according to his instructions.''
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