The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : The Dutch are sitting pretty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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The Dutch are sitting pretty

S. Thyagarajan

Kuala Lumpur: A rest day on Saturday paved the way for the coaches and players to recoup and refresh even as the Champions Trophy had coursed through an interesting phase in the two sets of matches thus far.

At the first blush, the results mirror the comfort zone in which the defending champion, the Netherlands, has placed itself with a tally of six points.

It is indisputable that the Dutchmen, with such proficient stars like Teun di Nooijer, Taeke Takema, Rob Reckers and the Brouwers sailed merrily along outclassing Great Britain and Malaysia on successive days.

Admittedly, the event is still in an early phase. Yet an indication that assessments can go haywire came on Friday, when the Koreans stunned the Olympic champion, Australia.

The Germans are endeavouring to prove that they continue to be a force to reckon with notwithstanding the pathetic show at the European Championships in Manchester. With six points — the win against Pakistan was outstanding — the Germans can pose danger to the Netherlands.

Despite the defeat in both the games, the young Malaysian squad has elicited praise from every quarter for the quality if its display. For the home team, this event is a bonanza, pitting it against the best in the world. Coach Sarjit Singh is more than pragmatic when he reiterates the fact that the target for the team is the pre-Olympic qualifier in Japan

The following is the table of points after two matches:

Germany: Played 2, won 2, drawn nil, lost nil, goals scored 9, goals against 2, points 6; Netherlands 2-2-0-0-7-1-6; Korea 2-1-1-0-3-2-4; Australia 2-1-0-1-2-1-3; Pakistan 2-1-0-1-4-5-3; Spain 2-0-1-1-2-4-1; Malaysia 2-0-0-2-1-5-0; Great Britain 2-0-0-2-0-8-0.

Sunday’s matches: Spain v Netherlands (1-35 p.m. IST), Malaysia v Britain (3-35 p.m.); Germany v Korea (4-05 p.m.), Australia v Pakistan (5-35 p.m.).

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