The Early Rounds

n the road to the World Cup final, India beat England 2-1 in their opening match, with V. J. Philips scoring both goals off penalty strokes. India next drew 1-1 with Australia, with Govinda scoring a field goal in his inimitable style.

India scored an easy 7-0 victory over Ghana. However, Argentina upset India 2-1, with Harcharan Singh scoring the sole goal for India. With a draw and a loss, our supporters even doubted India's ability to qualify for the semi-finals.

Our team was handicapped by injuries during the tournament. Aslam hurt his left knee, Surjeet suffered from a strained muscle, Ashok had a nasty hit on his ankle, Philips injured his left temporal region, Harcharan pulled his hamstrings and Varinder developed a severe viral infection. And again, Phillips once, and Aslam twice, suffered from bad indigestion.

Ajitpal and Varinder shared one room, and what a combination they made - one quiet, the other sober and very respectful. At times Ajitpal was tense and even missed his meals before matches. We had to give his a morale a boost by relating instances from India's Olympic history; this worked very well with him and by the end of the tournament he was more confident of himself.

Leslie Fernandes and Ashok Dewan chose to stay together. Leslie, though an intelligent player, was found to be a little too quiet, even off-mood at times. At times he would look depressed or too deep in thought. Bad performance depressed him easily. Dewan, a newcomer to the international scene, just would not enter into any discussion. His early nervousness vanished with good achievements on the field.

Phillips and Kindo stayed together and they understood each other very well. They were forever discussing hockey. Phillips had problems with his gastro-intestinal system. Pain in the abdomen was his constant complaint. After the final, he fell unconscious due to exhaustion. A player of strong will and guts, he punished his body very hard and never gave up trying.

At this stage in the tournament, the only option left for India to qualify for the semi-final was to beat Germany in their last pool match.

Members of the World Cup Winning Team