Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010: Expectations from India vs. England Hockey Match
New Delhi – Indian hockey team seems working out with the fine strategies to bag the medal at Delhi Commonwealth Games. Throughout the event, the team India had been getting better and better. As the competition progressed, host hockey team defeated the
Malaysian counterparts in a tough competition, where it made it to overdo the rivals by 3-2. Later on, with the traditional and bitter rivals from Pakistan, the Indian side kept a complete control of the game. Starting with remarkable 4 goals within just initial
20 minutes, provided the Indian side a deciding edge in the match which not only shattered the confidence of otherwise a much better opponent team, but also boosted the morale of the Indian side and left the spectators enthralled.
At its match with Pakistan, Indian hockey team improved its scores as the match ended with ultimate 7 of the hosts against 4 goals of the neighbouring guests. However, despite of the fact that the initial two matches had raised the expectations of the spectators
from the domestic team to outdo the rivals from Australia as well, the Australian players defeated the hosts by 5-2. Contrary to the role played by the crowd in the match against Pakistan, the cheering and encouragement from 20,000 spectators present in the
stadium couldn’t help keeping the confidence of the Indian side.
On the contrary, the start of England side was rather dull in the event. Starting with a draw against Canada, the England team showed its potential against New Zealand to which it defeated with 5 against 2 goals. In the following match, English team defeated
South African side in rather a tough match where it outdid the rivals by 2 against 1 goal. The so far remarkable performance of English hockey team has also created high hopes among the English spectators for winning against the Indian rivals.
Prior to the crucial match, Indian hockey team is going to have against England, it is important to provide the readers with some historical matters over here. If the Indian side wins the match against England, this would be the first time ever for the country
to make it to the finals of the commonwealth games. For Indian spectators, if the country makes it to the final, it would wipe away the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the Olympics where the English team denied the Indian side a trip to the Beijing Olympics
by defeating it with 2-0 in Chile.
When both of the sides were approached by the media personnel to have their views, Barry Middleton, the captain of team England said that his team was rather happy to have India in the semi-finals. He expressed his expectations that the game would be quite
exciting for players as well as for the spectators. On the other side, Jose Brasa, the Indian coach told the media that the English side was the champion’s trophy runners-up and also the European champions. Therefore, in order to outdo them on the ground,
the Indian side must have to depict a really well play.
While encountering England in the semi-finals, Sandeep Singh, the tall defender of Indian side and drag-flicker would be the key player to be relied upon. Sandeep depicted rather impressive play against Pakistan where he not only converted two penalty corners,
but also set up a goal for Shivendra Singh.
Among all the games in which India has been participating in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, hockey is perhaps the only discipline that is enjoying jam pack stadiums, where the tickets for all of the matches are sold like hot cakes well ahead of the event.
This shows not only the enthusiasm of the domestic spectators about the game, but also the importance of the game in the whole event.
Considering the hype which has been created among the spectators, the local newspapers too are giving wide space to the analysis of the match between England and India. Some of the leading Indian newspapers reported the event as
“battle between India and England, where defence would play an important role”.
Another newspaper said that in order to perform well, the Indian side will have to play with their mind and not with their heart as they did against Pakistan.
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