Hockey: How PR Sreejesh-coached India produced a stunning fourth quarter turnaround to beat Argentina from 0-2 to 4-2, and win bronze at Junior World Cup

Hockey: How PR Sreejesh-coached India produced a stunning fourth quarter turnaround to beat Argentina from 0-2 to 4-2, and win bronze at Junior World Cup

After the semifinal thrashing against Germany, India’s head coach PR Sreejesh said it would be ‘painful’ if his wards returned home from Chennai empty-handed after all the work they had put in for a year leading up to the FIH Junior World Cup. For three quarters in the bronze medal match against Argentina on Wednesday, that word perfectly described India’s performance too: ‘painful’.

Then, suddenly, it all changed. Staring at the real prospect of finishing in that most annoying of positions – fourth – for the third straight edition, India sparked into life, scoring four goals in the fourth quarter. Three of those came from Penalty Corners, and one from a Penalty Stroke as India ended a 9-year wait for a podium finish in this tournament, to finish with a bronze.

When asked what the message was before final quarter, in typical Sreejesh style, the coach mouthed a ‘gaali’. Then, with actual words, he said: “I told them to bring that energy. You can’t take it easy when you are down 0-2. Once you come out of this line, there is no space for regret. We’ve done everything we needed to before the match, but if they are not delivering it on the field, then…,” he stopped, and changed his train of thought, bringing out the Hanuman analogy of realising their own strength. “Sometimes, you need to remind the players where they belong.”

For three quarters they were indeed floundering. An early mistake led to a Penalty Stroke, which Argentina converted, then they doubled their lead towards the end of the third quarter for a deserved 2-0 lead.

The South Americans were arguably the best defensive side in the tournament – one that superbly thwarted the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and nearly repeated it against Spain in the semis before a hugely controversial goal ended their dream. And with 15 minutes to go, India didn’t look like they could breach them.

And leading the comeback was Arshdeep Singh, the young man who made a name for himself in the Hockey India League for his ability to ‘create chances even when he is asleep,’ as one of his team officials put it to this daily.

In the 49th minute, Arshdeep received the ball inside the circle and turned sharply to find a defensive foot. After not converting four PCs in the third quarter, India decided to try out a variation, placing Anmol Ekka wide on the second battery. He went for an angled low pass across goal instead of the traditional drag flick, and Ankit Pal deflected the ball past the goalkeeper. A couple of minutes later, Arshdeep was at it again, dribbling into the circle down the right flank with purpose and drawing another foul. And this time, Anmol, from a straighter angle but a similar ploy, found a deflection off Manmeet Singh’s stick. There was lift off in the stands.

The comeback would be complete in the 57th minute as Arshdeep was fouled rashly inside the circle, bundled aside by Argentine captain Tomas Ruiz. Sharda Nand Tiwari, who has been superb from the 7-yard spot, stepped up and made it 3-2. With Argentina taking off their goalkeeper, India learned from their mistake against Belgium to smartly win a PC in the penultimate minute, and Anmol drove it with venom from the short corner for the icing on the cake.

“That was the talk right from halftime. Arshdeep has had these qualities from the beginning, so we told him go forward and just try to get some PCs for us, and we will convert them. Every time we had a break, either between quarters or when play stopped, that’s what we kept telling him and the other forwards,” India captain Rohit told The Indian Express. He added it was heartening to see India deliver from set-pieces after a lot of talk about the conversion rates before and during the tournament. Indeed, he had said after the 17-0 win against Oman that they were keeping some cards close to the chest in terms of variations, and a couple of them came in handy when the situation was dire for India.

It doesn’t change how flat India were in the semifinal against Germany, and Sreejesh was acutely aware of that when speaking after a hard-fought bronze. He conceded that the disappointment of not reaching the final was still rankling him. But he also knew what it entailed to put the disappointment of a semifinal defeat behind and deliver bronze. “Two Olympic Games how I came back..,” he recalled. “Now we are going back with a medal.”

Sreejesh then ended the tournament on the same note he started. He wanted his boys to survive this pressure because this is what they will face when they play World Cups and Olympics in the future. “For me, down 0-2 and winning 4-2 in the last quarter, that is the best game ever they can have in the Junior World Cup. Because for juniors, a World Cup comes with huge pressure. They faced it. They won that challenge. What else do you want as a coach?”