However, if the team were to get more balanced, then the scoring skills of the forwards require a lot of honing. There were moments in the final when the India had goal beckoning at them, but these chances went unutilised due to old failings.
Historically, Indian forwards have always been found wanting in positional play in the striking zone as also anticipation besides not taking shots at the goal at the first opportune moment. Hesitation and that wretched one last dribble rather than making an attempt gave precious fractions of a second for the opposition to regroup.
Dribbling, synonymous with sub-continental hockey, is a bane and a boon in modern hockey which is founded on speed and power, and quick ball rotation using the long hits, underlining the fact that ball travels faster than man.
The Indian players in Johor Cup used the dribble to great effect in deep defence and some of the stick-work bordered on magic. Conversely, the same art let the team down in attack when the ball had to be released rather than kept.
