Taming The Lions
Dhillon swerved to his left, eluded two defenders and finished with a brilliant backhander from an inconceivable angle. The beauty of his goal was such that he became an instant hero and a darling of the fans.
Triumph and Trauma of a Coach
M. K. Kaushik with K. Arumugam
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Taming The Lions | A spectacular goal by Baljeet Singh
Dhillon close to half-time depicted the mood of the marauding Indian attack.
From a long ball by Sandeep Somesh, Riaz picked up the pass and directed it
to Dhillon on the move.
Dhillon swerved to his left, eluded two defenders and finished with a brilliant backhander from an inconceivable angle. The beauty of his goal was such that he became an instant hero and a darling of the fans. |
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were looking for an outright win against defending champion South Korea - our
fourth match in six days. Since they had scored more goals than us, a draw would
leave us second in the pool, which would make us face Pakistan in the
semi-final. We set ourselves a two-goal victory margin, which was realistic in
terms of our calibre, planning and strategy.
Our preparation for this crucial match centred around match videos involving South Korea, especially their classic match against Pakistan in the latest (1998) edition of the Champions Trophy. We discussed and dissected that match repeatedly in our rooms.
Song Seung Tae, who wears jersey no. 9, was their main penalty corner maker. I assigned the seasoned Sandeep Somesh to mark him. Their captain, Park Shin Heum, was their main distributor. Sabu Varkey was put in charge of containing him. Head-band wearing Hong Kyung-Seup, with jersey no. 7, had been exemplary in converting half chances into goals. Left-half Ramandeep Singh was asked to mark him.
We came to the match bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. The Koreans, with their patented 3-3-3-1 format, were nowhere in the contest in the first half. Such was our degree of domination that we were awarded six penalty corners against only one for South Korea in the first session.
A spectacular goal by Baljeet Singh Dhillon close to half-time depicted the mood of the marauding Indian attack. From a long ball by Sandeep Somesh, Mohammad Riaz picked up the pass and directed it to Dhillon on the move. Dhillon swerved to his left, eluded two defenders and finished with a brilliant backhander from an inconceivable angle. The beauty of Dhillon's goal was such that he became an instant hero, and a darling of the fans and the media.
Within minutes, India struck again, this time from a penalty corner. Dhillon faked a flick-drive, but pushed the ball to Mukesh who slotted in the goal. This was the same way by which Australia had scored against Korea in the latest Champions Trophy. We ended the first half with a 2-0 lead.
The South Korean game depends on how effectively jersey no. 9 (Song Seung Tae), jersey no. 7 (Hong Kyung-Seup) and their penalty corner striker Kin Yong-Bae play on a particular day. If any one of them flops, the team fails to click.
In the second half, much against our cautious approach and meticulous game plan, we ended up conceding as many as six penalty corners. The Koreans scored off their third penalty corner. Dileep Tirkey anticipated the shot, but it was so power packed that it rammed into the cage before he could even apply his stick.
The defence held on, and we ended up with a 2-1 victory. The goodly number of Indian supporters who had gathered here gave the team a standing ovation. They descended onto the ground and profusely congratulated us, as if we had won the title itself.
However, I did not go overboard with this victory. In the last Asian Games, we lost the final to Korea after beating them comprehensively in the pool match. Players were reminded of this, told to be cautious, and keep the semi-final against Japan in focus.
India vs. Korea in the Asian Games
Photograph Courtesy The Hindu