SO, the drought continues. We so desperately wanted it to happen, but, as it turned out, it was not to be. The heart of an entire nation sank into despair as the Pakistani players left the field with drooping shoulders.
It was the best chance for the team to clinch the gold and bring an end to the drought that has plagued the game in the country for a disturbingly long period of time. The Europeans and the Australians were not part of the competition, South Korea was pushed out of the way in the semifinal, and India was taken care of in the League round, and, to boost our chances, the Indians were without Jugraj Singh, who is such a vital component of their strategy.
Yet, the team failed to make it big. All it had to do in the final was to play the same game as that they did in the League round, but it could not do that. Perhaps it was the weight of expectations that brought the downfall. Perhaps the team has become so used to playing as the underdogs that it has forgotten how to play as the hot favourites, which involves keeping your cool on the field.
While we can go on talking about what might have happened, it is better to stick to what actually happened on the field. To me, there are two reasons that explain why things went wrong that day. One, unnecessarily defensive play; and, two, lack of fitness.
There was hardly any worthwhile attempt at the Indian goal in the second half. The same was true of the Indians for most part of the game, and most of the play in the second session was carried out in the midfield, but the Indians gradually pressed the accelerator in the last about fifteen minutes, and were definitely the more enterprising of the two teams during that time. On their part, the Pakistanis were clueless, and, for some strange reason, went further on the defensive, and paid the price.
As for the element of fitness, I have repeatedly said in my columns that there should be no compromise on this count. A less-experienced, less-skilled but fully fit player is worth a lot more than a supremely-gifted but half-fit individual. I find it surprising that the team managements have not improved the fitness level of the players in the last couple of years.
Weather conditions in Malaysia, as I mentioned in my column last week, remain taxing at this time of the year and humidity saps a lot of energy. The fact was naturally known before the even the team was announced, and yet the boys were not seen to be fit enough to last gruelling encounters. When you are scoring goals and are on top of your game, it does not tax your energy as much as it does when you are under pressure. As such, China, Bangladesh and Japan were easy matches, but the team struggled against the Indians.
In fact, the problem of fitness was not specific to the Asia Cup outing. Even at the Champions Trophy, Pakistan continued to lose advantage and concede goals at the fag end of its matches. It was no different at the Asia Cup final where the team conceded two goals in the last few minutes and left a nation to mourn the loss.
SO, the drought continues. We so desperately wanted it to happen, but, as it turned out, it was not to be. The heart of an entire nation sank into despair as the Pakistani players left the field with drooping shoulders.
