Hockey World Cup | South Africa were easy, Belgians will offer India no gaps, says Pillay
Dhanraj Pillay has lauded India’s performance against South Africa but added that they were a weaker team as compared to next opponents - Belgium. Pillay has further added that the Europeans will not give Manpreet Singh & Co. the same amount of space on the field as the South Africans did.
The Indian hockey team got off to a dream start in the opening match of the 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. They brushed aside South Africa 5-0 and now will take on Belgium in their next encounter which will test the true capability of the young Indian team.
Former India forward Dhanraj Pillay lauded India’s clinical finishing in front of goal as forwards Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh chipped in with goals of their own. However, the Indian legend added that South Africa
“The match against South Africa was a little easy. But going forward, especially against Belgium, the Indians won’t get that kind of gaps. In that match, they will encounter a lot of tight marking and they won’t get space to run with the ball as well,” Pillay told TOI.
India’s 5-0 win over South Africa will set the tone for the home team for the rest of the tournament. The home side made 29 circle penetrations against South Africa and finished with a pass accuracy of 66.71%. Indian coach Harendra Singh lavished praise on Akashdeep Singh for his brilliant display. Young striker Mandeep Singh missed a few shots at the goal, but Pillay backed to shine in the latter stages of the tournament.
“I think Akashdeep is playing a little as a schemer. He was feeding, going with the ball and scoring as well. He was at the right time in the right place. Yes, Mandeep did miss a few chances, but he received a lot of passes and did so without fumbling. The
