India wins first match in Hockey World Cup 2014

It was India against Malaysia and India won 3-2. From the beginning whistle the Indian team attacked and kept the possession, this helped them scored the goals at regular intervals when needed. Indian managed to penetrate the Malaysian defense 3 times. In the reply, Malaysia gave came up with a 2 goal reply, but was unable to breach the Indian defense more.

From now on in the tournament, India has nothing to lose. Instead they have a bright opportunity to make it to the 7th position, increasing their World Ranking by 1 position up, settling at 7. India should be satisfied with their performance and with this win would have their morals high. But their next match is with the group giants, Australia.

Australia hasn't lost a single match in the tournament so far and has looked strong, both in defense and in attack. Managing a win would be great, but under the circumstances a draw would be fine too. It is a little difficult for India, but with the kind of performance in the tournament so far, Indian players can certainly make the giants worry a little.

This team is young and has a potential of being a great future team. With the leader like Sardar Singh and a experience coach like Terry Walsh, the team is looking to touch new heights. The recent performances before Hockey World Cup 2014 of team India have been impressive. Hope they continue the form and perform their best in coming matches. All the best India.

India vs Spain,1-1, Hockey World Cup 2014

What a delight to watch an exciting 70 minutes of play, with the players making it even more exciting buy showing their extraordinary performance. I would say, a draw in this match was India's win. India did not had any points on the table and this draw against Spain ensures that India stay in the game of making it to the 4th spot in the table, which eventually will help them raise their world ranking.

India was certainly not looking in complete control when the tournament started, but they have made progress. A last minute loss in both the prior matches against Belgium and England respectively. But this time against Spain, it was different. The Indian players played an attacking game and on the same time managed to restrict the opponents to only a single goal.

Image Courtesy: International Business Times

The match ended, 1-1. Both the teams took single point from the game, but India was quite happy. The player who has been giving goosebumps to the opposition is not any striker but India's goalie Sreejesh. He is doing a perfect job in keeping the ball away from the nets and has been in phenomenal form. He has made some really impressive saves for team India.

Form now, team India has nothing to loose in the tournament. They have two matches left, one with the might Australians and the last with the Malaysians. India would want to win both the match and make their mark. Hope all goes well for the team. they are now looking in good knack as the tournament has progressed. Wishes to team India fora better play in future.

'TWO' in a row for Indian Hockey team!

Yes, second loss in a row in the Hockey World Cup 2014 for India. Team India looked defensive and were not able to keep the possession in the game against number 4 ranking team England. India lost 2-1. India did not had the possession but were able to keep the shots of the opposition out of the nets.

What was heartbreaking for the Indians, that the English players scored the second goal in the last couple of minutes via a penalty. In this tournament this is the second time that the Indian players were unable to defend the goal in the final seconds of the game. Earlier it was with Belgium, in which India lost 3-2 to Belgium, with the last goal coming in the final 10 seconds.

Ind 1-2 Eng

Image Courtesy - NDTV Sports

Indian team looks balanced but is unable to convert those close calls into a goal. The loss against England have thinned their chances of making it to the top two and going into the semi-finals. But a lot of positives for team India to take. They have managed to play good, they have made their opponents hunt for goals, making it difficult for them to score.

The two things that team India needs to work on in the ahead matches is their attack plan and their last minute defense. India is certainly looking and performing like a team worth playing the world cup. They have come a long way and have showed some good performance. Hopefully, they will be able to finish at a better spot in the tournament. India currently ranks 8 in World Hockey Ranking.