Cichy dashes Indian hopes

Poland's nippy striker Tomasz Cichy not only slammed the goal of the match in the penultimate minute to level scores and cut short India's passage into the Olympic Games semifinals, he shattered the dreams and aspirations of millions of Indian hockey fans.

Cichy showed that Poland's victory over Spain and the fighting draw against Argentina was not a flash in the pan. Poland had done enough in the tournament to prove thay were not to be taken lightly.

On Tuesday they went out hoping to show the Indians a thing or two. In the end, Cichy's goal spelt India's doom - leaving them languishing yet again in the play-offs for the fifth to eighth spot. That's a situation in which the Indians have never produced their best.

The weather was making things tough for the Indians while Poland did not seem to mind it. The Polish attacks had often brought them close to scoring, and the Indian defenders were wary. But with a minute to go, India were almost there and then came the moment of truth through Cichy's flash strike.

He took the ball on the right flank, wrong footed Indian skipper Ramandeep Singh with a deft feint, charged into the striking circle and whacked the ball past bewildered goalkeeper Jude Menezes.

Dilip Tirkey's repeat of his goal against Spain that lifted India was another display of opportunism, but in the overall impact it paled against the Polish equaliser.

If one was to signal the crucial play that never produced anything worthwhile, the miss in the dying seconds which left Baljit Dhillon, Dhanraj Pillay and Sameer Dad in a three-on-one position would take the cake. Dhillon and Pillay had the chance of scoring the match-winner with a couple of seconds remaining.

The verdict: Deserving award for Cichy: Nine points on 10. Dilip Tirkey: eight on 10 - the difference was it never became the match-winner.

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