Hockey matches between Pakistan and India, be at either side of the border or elsewhere, are fought fiercely and in a do or die fashion. The two nations treat every match as the final even if it’s a pool game. The celebrations that followed Pakistan’s win over India in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar and the subsequent one-match ban on two players besides reprimanding one and apology by team management has intensified the rivalry once again.

Pakistan’s 4-3 victory over arch rivals that also helped them avenge their Asian Games final defeat followed some indecent actions by a few players who went a step ahead by flouting the disciplinary rules.

It was a brilliant victory, indeed, and it would only have been befitting if the players had taken a decent victory lap after the semifinal win.

The two teams displayed a quality game during the stipulated time and in the end the better team won.

This was not the first time that Pakistan beat India on their own turf. The Greenshirts have had many notable victories against India in India during the past and the top of the list remains their brilliant 7-1 drubbing of the arch-rivals in the 1982 Delhi Asian Games final.

The greenshirts also lifted the fifth World Cup at Mumbai but that came about with a stunning 3-1 victory over Germany as India had failed to make it to the final then.

In 1986, however, the two Asian giants who ruled the game for long touched a low ebb when they had to play the classification match for the 11th and 12th positions at the 1986 Willesden World Cup. Pakistan, however, avoided the bottom slot after beating India 3-2.

Likewise, India has also an impressive record against Pakistan, both at home and abroad that include victories in the Olympic Games, World Cups, Asian and SAF Games, Indo-Pak series etc.

Pakistan won the second Indira Gandhi memorial hockey tournament at Lucknow in 1988, their first triumph after the twin debacle at Seoul Asian Games and Willesden World Cup where they failed to defend the title. The greenshirts had blanked USSR 3-0 in that Lucknow final.

However, second and third Asia Cup hockey tournament finals and the Lahore World Cup among others have bitter memories for both the nations, not just on the field but off it too.

The second Asia Cup final played between the two regional giants of the game – Pakistan and India – at Dhaka in 1985 has gone into the annals of the game as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) banned six Indian players for roughing up the umpire after they disputed a goal allowed by him. Pakistan won the final 3-2.

The Pakistan-India clash in the third Asia Cup final played at Delhi’s Shivaji Stadium in 1989 was marred by clashes and stone pelting by a section of crowd. If that was not enough, the bus in which Pakistan team was going to the hotel after winning the Asia Cup for a third consecutive time was chased by some people riding motorbikes who pelted stones at the windows of the bus, injuring some players and team officials.

In Pakistan, slogans were raised against the Indian hockey team at the Lahore World Cup in 1990. This correspondent is a witness to both Delhi and Lahore incidents.

The bilateral series that is in the interest of the two nations has already hit a snag. Incidents such as the one witnessed in Bhubaneswar this week after the high-voltage semifinal can take the two teams to point of no return which will be catastrophic for both the nations.

Its high time that fans on either side of the border realise that emotions running high on such occasions can spoil a good game and create unnecessary tension. The respective federations should also conduct regular counseling sessions to groom and discipline the players in the larger interest of the game. The other solution, of course, is that we stop playing each other which will certainly deprive millions of the game’s greatest contest.

Published in Dawn December 18th , 2014