After demonstrating a colossal effort against a formidable New Zealand side in the semis, India set to battle it out once again against the mighty Aussies.
After demonstrating a colossal effort against a formidable New Zealand side in the semis, India set to battle it out once again against the mighty Aussies in the final for the gold medal hunt at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
After trailing 0-2, India brought themselves back into the game thanks to the strikes from skipper Rupinder Singh Pal, Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh, who ensured at least a silver medal for the country. India missed the services of their influential midfielder Sardar Singh in the semis clash but will be relieved to have him back in the crunch game against the Oz.
India’s opponents in the final, the mighty Aussies won’t give an easy ride at all. The current world cup champions dominated the Hockey World for quite some time now and will look to continue their winning ways in the final against the Indians. The Aussies recently lifted their second World Cup title in a row and a third overall and will be looking to add a gold medal. During the Commonwealth Games, the side from Down Under topped their pool without losing any game and have crushed each and every opponent on their way to the finals against India.
The Aussies will be chasing their fifth consecutive gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and it will take a gruelling task for India to outdo their opponents who have already faced each other. In the pool game, Australia dished out a 4-2 thrashing to India. The only soothing moment for the Indians was that the scoreline that was not bad as their previous meetings. Remember the 2010 CWG final where the same opponent handed out a 8-0 drubbing.
All hopes are pinned on the likes of Ramandeep Singh, Sardar Singh and Rupinder Singh Pal to deliver the goods at the crunch clash. India were not lethal enough during their World Cup sojourn in the Netherlands where they succumbed under pressure and in turn lost the matches. But there are some changes in this team at the CWG and hopefully, India will avert the dangers of the previous meetings and land a gold medal!
