Just concluded Hockey India League-2014 finished much closer than one had expected. Last 2 games on the final day were decided by penalty shootout. Penalty shootout is a harsh way of deciding the winner. It comes down to the contest between a player and a goalkeeper. Yet one must agree that ultimately, the optimum result came in HIL. In soccer, Germans rarely lose a penalty shoot out. Jacobi proved it. He admitted in the post match reaction that he had never lost a shoot out in his career. That is why he was confident of winning the shootout for his team.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors played like a champion throughout the tournament, except in the final. They lost only 2 of their matches, the first and the last. Unfortunately, on both the occasions, it was Delhi Wave which sunk them. Second straight loss in the final must be very heart breaking. Statistically, they scored most no. of goals, showed best penalty corner conversion rate and topped the table in League stage. They missed a lot of chances in the final, specially in the final quarter of the game. They will rue it.
All the teams relied heavily on penalty corners for scoring. It can be seen in final tally of goal scorers as well. 4 Indians were in the fray for top spot. V R Raghunath (UPW) and Rupinder Pal Singh (DWR) put up a satisfactory show. Raghunath scored the only hat trick of the tournament against Mumbai Magicians. Gurjinder Singh was a flop for Mumbai Magicians. He scored on 2 occasions only which costs his team heavily. An example can be supplied here. He took the penalty corner against Ranchi Rhinos in dying seconds. He could be the hero, had he converted that PC against RR. Instead, he shoots the ball straight to the keeper. Argentina can touch their glorious past with the help of Gonzalo Peillat. He is young and physically very strong. Among all the drag flickers, he scored goals in all the corners of the post.
But Sandeep Singh emerged as the leader of the pack. With his 11 goals, 10 of which are in the form of PC, he again became the highest goal scorer of the tournament. His conversion rate was 40%. Proper injection by Dharamveer and accurate stopping by Hammond helped him in completing the task. He was shown the door from the national team due to his weakness in defence. In this tournament, he showed no signs of that problem. He showcased the skills of Roberto Carlos. He played with attacking mentality and provided crucial goal bounded passes to the strickers. His recall for the national duties is only a matter of time.
Akashdeep Singh won the award of ‘Best Young Player’. He deserves it. He scored 3 goals (one fewer than compatriot Nikkin Thimmaiah and Yuvraj Walmiki). The reason that went in his favour was his inspirational play in creating opportunities for goal. He impressed with his skills and run. His solo run from the half line in the final which ended in pin point goal bound pass to Lloyd Norris-Jones was his hallmark. He controlled the ball by a single hand on the course and the result of the effort was goal. He had a lukewarm Junior World Cup. Now he can surely be said a star in the making.
Ramandeep played the worst tournament of his career. He was the costliest Indian player. He was purchased by U P Wizards for 81000 US $. He didn’t live up to the expectations. His injuries reduced his strengths. In remaining matches, he failed to print deep impression on the minds of UPW fans. His position in the senior squad is in real danger.
Tushar Khandekar and Shivendra Singh who were regulars in the team up to London 12 displayed good hockey. They submitted their fresh claim for the National team. Manpreet, Kothajit, Affan Yousuf, Satbir, Danish Mujtaba and Yuvraj Walmiki proved their worth among the Indian players. Ashley Jackson, Simon Orchard, Jemie Dwyer, Teun de Nooijier, David Alegre, Glenn Turner played to their reputation among the foreigners.
Jaap Stockman and Nicolas Jacobi were the best man under the bar. All the teams relied heavily on foreign GKs. Only Harjot of Kalinga Lancers spent maximum time on the turf among all the Indian goal keepers. He showed signs of callowness in the beginning but matured with the passing time.
Kalinga Lancers started with 5-0 crush but later emerged as the most improved side. KL won a lot of hearts with their attacking style of Hockey. Their heads held high even in the losses as can be seen in match against UPW. They lost that game by 4-3 but created 10 shots as compared to 4 by the winners. Mumbai Magicians won two matches but that was too little too late.
The tournament presented some moments to remember. Lalit Upadhyay’s second goal against UPW was a jam. He was covered with 5 defenders but he scored with a beautiful reverse hit. P T Rao’s reflex save against UPW to deny a reverse stick shot was sublime. Nicolas Jacobi’s saves against Ranchi in the League match will be remembered for a long time.
HIL was heavily weighted by Australians. 24 of them played in the league for different clubs. 8 Aussies were part of JPW squad. Next year’s edition will provide more fun and entertainment. Most of the teams eschewed HIL due to World Cup preparations. Surely talents from Belgium (and who knows from Pakistan) and other nations will grace the occasion in 2015. Cedric D’souza stood tall among plenty of foreign coaches. It is a good sign for future of Indian Hockey. This year’s edition was very competitive. Surely, it will benefit Indian Hockey.