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Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial hockey: Bhopal run riot to conquer Hyderabad and poor pitch conditions
On a day which saw rainfall turn the pitch conditions poor, Hockey Bhopal humiliated Royal Hockey Club, Hyderabad, 8-2, on the second day of the Babasaheb Ambedkar
On a day which saw rainfall turn the pitch conditions poor, Hockey Bhopal humiliated Royal Hockey Club, Hyderabad, 8-2, on the second day of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial All-India Hockey Tournament in Balewadi on Thursday.
Hockey Bhopal overpowered and overplayed their opponents from the first whistle. However, after the game, both the coaches mentioned how their players were holding back because of poor condition of the pitch. The coaches did not blame the organisers, but specified that whoever maintains the hockey pitch at the Balewadi stadium has not done an acceptable job.
Various parts of the pitch were covered with mud with a torn patch of turf clearly visible near one of the penalty areas, due to which both sets of players were affected.
Hockey Bhopal still managed to overpower Hyderabad and ran out as comfortable victors. Bhopal attacker Sahil Khan was the first to xattack, but his powerful effort flew over the goal. Bhopal applied constant pressure in the first half and prevented Hyderabad from breaking into a counter-attack.
Quarter 1
It did not take time for Bhopal to produce the opening goal. Bhopal striker Shehbaazuddin Khan received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and smashed the strike into the top-right corner of the goal. Hyderabad completely switched off after conceding the first goal as Bhopal produced a golden opportunity to double their advantage.
Arshan Khan galloped down the left flank and smashed a low cross into a crowded penalty area, but none of the Bhopal attackers could reach the ball in time to convert it. Surprisingly, the first penalty corner of the game went to Hyderabad.
Hyderabad could not level the score from a penalty corner as Anil Rathod’s powerful strike beat the goalkeeper, but was bravely blocked and cleared away by Sahil Khan. Towards the end of the first quarter, both teams seemed to cancel each other’s attacks out and were strong in the midfield area.
Quarter 2
In the second quarter, the intensity of the rain increased. The effects were seen instantly as numerous players were seen losing their footing, while Bhopal’s Nadir Khan’s hockey stick went flying out of his hand after playing a long pass. The surface posed a challenge, but it was still deemed fit to carry play on. Bhopal then went on to finally double their lead through Amir Rehman. The joy of the goal was short-lived as Hyderabad cut the deficit back to one goal after Tanmay Raju broke free straight from the restart and caught the Bhopal defence napping as he rounded the keeper and scored Hyderbad’s first goal of the tournament.
Rain played a big part in the match as players found it difficult to make their passes stick. With the intent of launching a deadly attack, both teams were losing the ball in midfield and cancelling each other out.
Bhopal switched their game-play and started attacking from the wide areas, after failing to penetrate the Hyderabad defence through the middle. Fezanuddin Khan was at the receiving end of a beautiful cross from Sahil Khan. Fezanuddin calmly rolled the ball in the net to re-establish a two-goal lead.
Hyderabad switched to a counter-attacking tactic and ended up winning another penalty corner. After failing to score from the first one, Hyderabad were extremely poor with this opportunity as the pace of the ball to be swept in was misjudged by Shiva Kumar who rolled in a very slow ball which was cleared away by the Bhopal defenders before it reached a Hyderabad player.
Amidst all the chaos in the rain, Hyderabad keeper Sai Kumar made some extremely important saves in the second quarter of the game which disallowed Bhopal to knock the air out of their opponents in the second quarter itself.
Quarter 3
The third quarter began with Bhopal boasting a two-goal lead and they quickly extended that advantage to three. Ahmed Khan entered the box from the right and beautiful scooped the ball over the diving goalkeeper to give Bhopal a commanding 4-1 lead. A rare Hyderabad attack saw Uday Kumar pacing down the right and flying past three Bhopal defenders. The promising run came to an end after the defender misplaced his pass and the ball rolled out of play. Hyderabad’s Udheern Reddy was the next one to launch an attack, but his effort was well defended by the Bhopal defence.
Bhopal looked menacing in-front of goal as Mohammed Sameer scored from a sweeping move which caught Hyderabad completely off-guard. Yet again, Hyderabad were quick to respond as they pulled a goal back, a few minutes after conceding. This time the Bhopal keeper Islha Imtiaz made two good saves, but pushed the ball straight into the path of Mohammed Fayazulla, who did took the opportunity with open arms and made the score 5-2. With the gap still at three goals, this goal only seemed like a consolation. Despite the score-line, Hyderabad still pushed forward in an effort to reduce the deficit further.
Hyderabad won yet another penalty corner and yet again they failed to capitalise on it as the shot flew over the goal. Bhopal switched off for the first time in the game as Hyderabad’s Tanmay Raju, Mohammed Fayazulla and S. Sandeep were are involved in a move which was ultimately off target. The initial effort was well saved by the Bhopal keeper. With a three-goal lead at the end of the third quarter, Bhopal did not look satisfied and went back on the attack in the final quarter of the game. Sandeep set up another attack from the right flank as he whipped in a good cross, but no one got a touch on it and went through every player in the box.
Quarter 4
Bhopal’s Altamash Khan, who missed an opportunity early in the final quarter of the game, placed his strike brilliantly when he was given another opportunity. The youngster slotted the ball home to make the score 6-2 in Bhopal’s favour. Towards the end of the game, Bhopal scored a couple more goals through Shakir Khan and Faheem Khan to wrap up and register their first win in the tournament.
They say:
Sai Kumar (coach - Royal Hockey Club, Hyderabad): “Our players are used to playing on a gravel surface. They found it difficult to adapt to this surface, especially in the rain. The overall tournament is excellent, we are happy with the other aspects and looking forward to playing our next match.”
Shadab Khan (coach - Bhopal Hockey, Bhopal): “The ground is dirty, muddy and very slippery. The pitch has not been maintained at all. The tournament committee and organisers are doing a fine job, but the people who look after the maintenance of the ground are not doing their job at all. The pitch should have been cleaned and brought up to playable standards before the commencement of this tournament.”
