India's ace dragflicker Sandeep Singh determined to make amends for his absence in the last World Cup, but plays down battle with Pakistan veteran Sohail Abbas
India's ace dragflicker Sandeep Singh determined to make amends for his absence in the last World Cup, but plays down battle with Pakistan veteran Sohail AbbasIndia drag-flicker Sandeep Singh has this uncanny knack of missing out on major tournaments due to freak accidents. He first missed the 2006 FIH Hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany when he was accidentally shot at in a train as he was travelling to the national camp by a policeman cleaning his rifle. Then, a year later he slipped in the bathroom hurting his back days before the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.
This time around though, the star defender is fully prepared for the tournament of his life, and believes nothing can stop him from doing well for the country.
"The World Cup is a dream for any player and I'm no different. I missed out on the last edition in Germany (India finished 11th in the 12 team competition) and this time I want to more than make up for that loss," Singh told SUNDAY MiD DAY from his hotel room here yesterday.
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All eyes will be on India's ace dragflicker Sandeep Singh in Sunday's World Cup game. PICS/AFP |
The 24-year-old, who boasts of 115 international caps under his belt, believes he and his team could not have asked for a better tournament opener than against neighbours Pakistan. "They are a very passionate hockey- playing nation, just like us. So, theu00a0 match will be a cracker," said Singh being touted as the world's best drag-flicker. He does not like that tag too much though. "I don't think I'm the best. I still have to improve a lot and for that I'm practising very hard," the unassuming Deputy Superintendent of Haryana Police said.
The Indo-Pak clash is being hailed as a clash between the current best and one-time world's best drag flickers -- Sandeep vs veteran Sohail Abbas, who made a return to the Pakistan squad for what is certain to be his last World Cup.
Sandeep however preferred to play down the rivalry. "Sohail is a very good drag-flicker and there's no doubt about that. But hockey is a team game and it can never be about one or two players. Also, to be able to take a drag flick, the team first has to earn a penalty corner. I think our defenders are well aware of the Sohail threat and so we will do our best not to give away unnecessary penalty corners. Meanwhile, our forwards will go all out to try and earn penalty corners for us, which I must convert," he said.
Sandeep has been able to convert just one of his drag flicks into a goal in India's two practice matches here, against Argentina and the Netherlands, both of which the hosts won 2-1. However, he did not to read too much into that performance. "Teams tend to take it a little easy in practice games and so did I. The tournament though will be a different story altogether. I am ready to fire against Pakistan,"
he signed off.
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| Five things India need to do to beat Pakistan |
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1. Ensure penalty corners are not given away, so that Sohail Abbas has no say in the game.
2. Conversely, ensure drag-flicker Sandeep Singh has as many opportunities as possible to display his prowess.
3. Tightly mark Pak veteran striker Rehan Butt, who can not only score but also create goals for teammates.
4. Indian forwards should try to beat Pak veteran goalkeeper Salman Akbar with ground shots rather than aerial balls, which the tall custodian is good at thwarting.
5. Ensure strikers Prabhjot Singh and Shivendra Singh have enough room down the centre to make their trademark defence-splitting runs |
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