By S. Thyagarajan

EDINBURGH, JULY 18. On a bright, sunny morning, under an azure sky at the University Sports Centre here, the Indians sweated it out, literally and figuratively for a laboured victory in Pool A against Wales in the World Cup hockey qualifier on Wednesday.

Aside from the consolation of taking full points from the encounter, there was precious little which could be conveyed in a veneer of eloquence. Superlatives will be out of place, but outright condemnation would be uncharitable.

Even assuming that the Chief coach Cedric D'Souza's goal is to be part of the seven for the World Cup at Kuala Lumpur next year, the manner in which India began its journey here has undoubtedly caused apprehension. It needs at least one more win to be in the second stage, and the teams to contend with are New Zealand and Egypt, both reckoned as far stronger than Wales.

New Zealand, which carved out an impressive 3-1 victory against Egypt in the opening match takes on India on Thursday.

Cedric lamented about the team missing chances but throughout the first half, which ended goal-less, there was no semblance of India creating anything that could be described as an opening. True, Indians enjoyed the territorial advantage and possessed the ball for the major part of the match.

But individual skill minus the capacity to improvise makes the former virtue useless. Precisely, this is what the Indians did this afternoon, making simple movements complicated, dribbling more than necessary and, above all, making a mess of the chances, at least in the second half.

It goes without saying that unless the team pulls itself into shape on Thursday, the passage is not going to be smooth. The Indians were strong in the mid-field but poor in finish and in goal-keeping too. Jude Menezes faced only a solitary moment of danger in the match and caved in when just a minute remained from the hooter.

A 2-0 win would have been far more honourable in maintaining the top slot along with the Kiwis, who also have a 2- 0 goal- difference after their game against Egypt.

Even conceding the fact that Wales laid emphasis on defence and stationed as many as eight in and around the circle at any given point of time, the Indian frontline, for all its dominance, had no tactic to overcome such a situation.

After all, an all out defence is the only choice left out for weaker teams against formidable opponents. Not only did the Welsh players defend their goal well, but also showed enormous fighting spirit, and never lost their poise till the final minute.

Barring two penalty corners, India had nothing to show of merit in the first half. A withering hit from a penalty corner was saved well by goal-keeper George Harris, who also brought off a few splendid saves in the second half. On the contrary, Graeme Egan, the Welsh attacker, almost slotted in the lead midway through with a crashing shot that missed the mark by inches.

India's mid-field worked with proficiency, thanks to the initiative and imagination of Baljit Singh Saini, and the support from the left by Thirumalvalavan. Bipin Fernandez and Lazarus Barla also lent in a helping hand, as did Bimal Lakra.

But it was the frontline that fumbled repeatedly, indulging in ball play which at times seemed superfluous. Gagan Ajit Singh and Daljit Singh Dhillon were seen dribbling even inside the circle when a direct hit could have proved far more rewarding.

Prabhjot was easily the most conspicuous and scored a peach of a goal early in the second half. This came off a well conceived move, prompted first by Barla and built up by Fernandez. Prabhjot's withering shot from the top of the circle gave goal- keeper Harris no chance.

Not long after the came the second goal from a penalty corner. Baljit Singh Dhillon flicked to Daljit Singh Dhillon to strike. But goal-keeper Harris padded neatly. As the ball rebounded, Baljit Singh Dhillon picked it up and pushed into the boards.

Gagan Ajit Singh and Daljit Sindh Dhillon were far from consistent and frittered away a handful of openings. The usual final minute trauma for India continued here too as the only breakaway move involving Simon Organ culminated in a goal, with Jude Menezes unable to come in the way at the right moment.

New Zealand holds back Egypt

New Zealand was far more authoritative than India, in the way it subdued the temperamental Egyptians. An early goal by Brett Lever from a penalty corner gave the Kiwis the verve to escalate pressure on the rival.

Led admirably in the front by Beven Hari and later by Umesh Parag, supported neatly in the mid-field by Ryan Archbald, the Kiwis held the whiphand for long spells. The second goal from a stroke after Beven Hari was stick-checked by Egyptian skipper, Yasser, put New Zealand in the right frame of mind to keep everything in control.

When Egypt came back into the match close on half-time through a goal by Gamel Mohammad off a pass from Belal Ebrahim, the match entered an interesting phase. There were moments when it looked as though the Egyptians might draw level. The tricky movements of Mohammad Walid caused a lot of tension to the rival defence as were the runs by Nagy Mohammad assisted by Belal.

But the Kiwis enlarged the leeway in the second half when a Lever push found Parag at the right spot, and the latter's deflection bemused the custodian, Osama Hasanein.

It is worthwhile recalling at this juncture that when India takes New Zealand on Thursday, the Kiwis will keep on their mind the recent 2-1 Test series victory.

Belgium enhanced its chances of advancing into the second round with a comfortable 5-0 win against Bangladesh. Along with Argentina, Belgium is likely to be in the top seven, if the performance on Wednesday is any indication after the drawn game against France on Tuesday. The Belgians led 4-0 at half-time. Jean Willems scored three, while Alexandre de Chaffoy and Marc Coudron netted once each in the match.

Poland rallies to beat Canada

Late on Tuesday night, Poland demonstrated its fighting qualities once again, rallying in the last 10 minutes to record a splendid 2-1 victory over Canada in Pool D. An early goal by Rick Roberts and the dominance by the Canadian mid-field gave the feeling that Poland would be subdued. And it looked that way till the last quarter. But with only 10 minutes remaining from the finish came the equaliser, Thomaz Szmidt beating Mike Mahoot. Encouraged by this success, Poland pumped in everything it had and succeeded four minutes before the hooter through Arthur Mikula.

In the last match of the day, the United States of America defeated Russia 1-0, the goal scorer being Dasrath Preet Singh.

Thursday's matches (all times IST): Wales v Egypt (2-30 p.m.); India v New Zealand (4-30 p.m.); USA v Canada (5 p.m.); Poland v Russia (7 p.m.); Spain v Chile (7-30 p.m.); Japan v Scotland (9- 30 p.m.)