CHENNAI: There was a lovely flowing move at the beginning of the second quarter that kind of spoke about the stylistic vision Craig Fulton has. After stopping a relatively threatening Japan move from entering the striking circle, India got hold of the ball and recycled possession, exchanging passes in midfield, trying to move Japan's defence multiple ways.
After advancing with the ball, the move turbo-charged through the attacking third before Akashdeep Singh, from a tight angle, lofted the ball to S Karthi who was within handshaking distance of the goalkeeper. But the pass evaded Karthi's stick and the chance had gone begging. The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, though, roared in appreciation of a move that has been worked arduously on the training pitch ever since Fulton came on board. The move was in keeping with the general momentum of a 15-minute period when Japan, who had held India in the league match a few days ago, wasn't even in the same postcode as India; such was the difference between the two sides in terms of movement, skill and general imagination. While Japan did well to nullify India's weapons in the first quarter, the hosts slowly started to move through the gears in the second stanza. There was a winding coast-to-coast run from Amit Rohidas. The opener, you sensed, was around the corner. And so it proved when Akashdeep, whose idea of space inside the D is one of the best on this side, was in the right spot to slam home a loose ball after the opponents failed to clear the danger. When good sides enjoy a dominating passage, they usually go on to score a second and a third. That's what happened on another humid day as Harmanpreet Singh, who has been in goal-scoring form from the top of the D, sounded the board from the penalty corner. Karthi should have made it 3-0 but it didn't matter as Mandeep Singh was on hand to deflect a Manpreet Singh shot on the stroke of half-time. It was the sort of margin the performance had demanded. Every move had a purpose; a goal behind it as Japan were left back-tracking for vast moments of the second quarter. This was a marked difference from the group stage encounter. There Japan had men behind the ball (they also had to thank all the missed penalty corner conversions) and frustrated India. Here, they were running, expending lots of energy to even get possession for a few minutes. That physical exertion kind of started telling on the visitors as they slowly tired. The World No. 4, who will face Malaysia in the final on Saturday, weren't done though. Even as they kept the back door shut, they were willing to send bodies up front in search of further goals. And they got the desired response when Manpreet, who has quietly enjoyed one of his best tournaments in recent times, picked up the ball, glided past a few Japan legs in the right channel before playing a defence-splitting to the onrushing Sumit. The defender picked up the ball, evaded a few tackles before flicking it into the top corner. On a night like this, though, the goals kept flowing and Karthi had the last laugh as India embraced Route One hockey. Harmanpreet's long ball from inside India 23 took the midfield out of the equation before finding Gurjant Singh in the opposite end of the field. He brought it down before putting on a plate for the striker who finished it with aplomb.
Cries of 'Karthi, Karthi, Karthi', reverberated as the capacity crowd were revelling in what they were witnessing. In a little over 12 hours, they may well have the chance to see an Indian hockey team do that rarest of things -- pick up gold on Indian soil.
Some members of the crowd may have experienced it the last time it happened in India for it happened at the same venue 16 summers ago at the Asia Cup.
