Hockey India League: As Hyderabad Toofans storm into final, young drag-flicker Amandeep Lakra comes of age | Hockey News

It was a frustrating night for himself from penalty corners and for his side Soorma Hockey Club who had just lost the semifinal of the men’s Hockey India League against Hyderabad Toofans at the Birsa Munda Stadium on Friday night. But national team captain Harmanpreet Singh, dejected as he was, took the chance to praise some impressive performances for the victorious opponents. Bikramjit Singh, the goalkeeper. Arshdeep Singh, forward. Amandeep Lakra, defender and drag-flicker.
“Their PC defence was good, and Bikramjit made many good saves,” Harmanpreet said. “There is Jugraj Singh also for the Tigers, and, Amandeep and Arshdeep for Toofans. Acchi baat hai bhai. I hope they continue this. I feel proud as the Indian captain. This is a competition, of course, but it seriously feels good to see the youngsters perform so well.” Toofans captain Sumit too made it a point to appreciate Bikramjt’s saves and then added: “The boy Amandeep has come up with goals that have been so important to us this season.”
It was Amandeep’s opening goal, set up Arshdeep, that kickstarted Toofans’ impressive 3-1 win against Soorma. Jacob Anderson and Nilakanta Sharma scored in the third quarter before a consolation goal with the literal last play of the match through Jeremy Hayward, their 15th PC of the match resulting in the only successful conversion.
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Toofans will take on Bengal Tigers, who beat Tamil Nadu Dragons in the first semifinal.
Amandeep impresses
On a night when he simply couldn’t find a way past Toofans’ defence, Harmanpreet got a close look at a young man, on the fringes of the national side, who came up with perhaps the most important breakthrough of the match.
After a cagey opening quarter, the match was crying out for a moment of inspiration. And it came from a combination of two Indian youngsters who have been central to Toofans’ surge in the tournament. Near the 25th-minute mark, Arshdeep picked up the ball down the right flank, drove forward towards the circle, eliminated a couple of defenders, and won a PC. The first couple of PCs in the match for Toofans were taken their man Gonzalo Peillat but this time, Amandeep lined up. He flicked the ball with superb use of wrs to beat Vincent Vanasch, among the finest goalkeepers in the world, and the man on the post.
The 20-year-old has been shining in a squad that has one of the greatest drag flickers alongside him in Peillat, who has also been instrumental in shaping the youngster from Rourkela.Story continues below this ad
Pasha Gademan, Toofans head coach, wasn’t too keen to focus on individual performances after what he rightly described as a proper team effort against a difficult Soorma side. But drawn to elaborate on Amandeep, the Dutchman said: “At the beginning, I just thought he had a very hard and direct flick. But as we worked with each other more, Gonzalo also helped him a lot (the two have been doing a lot of video sessions together). And yeah, it’s a very complete flick. He sees the goalkeeper and the runners well. So that’s very nice. But he’s young and he needs to develop it. So let’s not get too excited with him. Let’s give him time.”
Amandeep was on the Toofans’ radar when team director Siddharth Pandey saw him during a training session with his Railways side in Ranchi. “Deception is what stood out for me. Usually, you find drag flickers who try to overpower the goalkeeper with brute power. But Amandeep – who might not appear to be the most powerful – has a few tricks up his sleeve. He has a very quick run-up. He also has very good wrs and can open up his body to play with the angles.”
Pandey said that was why he was among the prime targets for Toofans at the auction.
Winning PCs in attack is a feature of Arshdeep’s game that has earned the admiration of India head coach Craig Fulton as he already finds his name in the senior squad for the upcoming FIH Pro League matches. Scoring clutch goals from penalty corners with his wry drag flicks will likely soon see Amandeep in the mix as well for the national side, as he has made a name for himself in the HIL.Story continues below this ad
Tigers prevail 0.02 seconds
After the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers won a marathon shootout against Tamil Nadu Dragons, former Australia head coach Colin Batch let out a wry smile when asked about Florent van Aubel’s successful effort in the sudden death. “I actually don’t like the shootout. So, I’d much prefer to keep playing.”
Van Aubel’s shot trickled into the net in a must-score situation as the hooter for 8 seconds also went off at the same time. The umpire went up to the video referee and it turned out the ball trickled past the finish line with 0:02 seconds left on the clock. That was the difference in the end between the Tigers reaching the final and the Dragons suffering a heartbreak. Batch said: “It’s such fine margins, isn’t it?”

Tigers went behind twice in the match but hit back to tie things up 2-2 in regulation before forcing a penalty shootout which they won 6-5 after 9 attempts were needed. The final pits the table-topping Tigers and the well-rounded Toofans who have grown steadily in the tournament and are arguably the team to beat.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assant Editor and is based in New Delhi. … Read More