THE post-script, by the very nature of it, comes at the end of the main piece. Today, it has to come at the beginning. Actyally, I had finished my column for the week when the news came of Pakistan’s victory over the South Koreans in the semi-final of the Afro-Asian Games. However, by the time this column appears in print, the result of the final agianst India would have been known to you. On my part, I wish them well.
The post-script having been taken care of, I will now restrict myself to the team’s first three games that it played in the league stage of the tournament. And, ironically, even that is based on reports appearing in the media and on the basis of my conversations over the phone with some friends who happen to be there. Pakistan Television once again has found it not worth its while to show even the highlights of the games played by the national team. But this is something I have repeatedly written about in the past without much of a success.
The team, as is known already, is playing without some of its key players who have opted to skip the outing for various reasons. The case of the Indian team is also very much the same, with the minor difference that on the part of the Indian machinery it is more of an official decision rather than those of the individuals. But that, of course, is a secondary issue. Just for the records, the South Koreans have also rested a few of their players,
The team, however, hardly did anything remarkable in the league stage. Though it did beat Nigeria and Egypt, the manner in which these victories were brought about were a clear indication that in the absence of its first-choice selection material, the national team was strugglingto make a start.
The 4-2 defeat against India in the league stage was much like the scorelines that have been cropping up in recent times, where Pakistan does get the initial lead, but fails to sustain the pressure and allows the Indians — and, indeed, other opponents as well — to get back into the game and turn the tables on us. They were leading 2-1, but the Indians came back with three late goals in quick succession and the Pakistanis could only rue a missed opportunity of beating India on its own soil and in front of its own supporters.
As things stand today, the malaise afflicting the national outfit is two-fold: one, the boys lack hundred per cent physical fitness to last seventy minutes of intense hockey; and, two, they allow rather disturbing periods of mindless inactivity during the game which allows the opposition to be imaginative in the field at the cost of the Pakistanis. The two, as can be seen easily, are inter-linked. If you are fit enough to last the duration, you will never try to take it easy anytime before the final hooter.
As it happens now, the Pakistanis lose their initiative at least a couple of minutes before the half-time. In the second half, it is much worser.
As fatigue begins to show, the level of inactivity becomes so severe that even the half-line — let alone the forwards — fail to be in the right place when the opponents counter-attack, which is generally on a fast pace. The way the lowly-ranked Nigerians made use of such flaws should make all concerned to sit up and take notice of the malaise before it is too late. The semi-final victory against the South Koreans does not take anything away from the argument. It has to be seen on a long-term basis.
THE post-script, by the very nature of it, comes at the end of the main piece. Today, it has to come at the beginning. Actyally, I had finished my column for the week when the news came of Pakistan’s victory over the South Koreans in the semi-final of the Afro-Asian Games. However, by the time this column appears in print, the result of the final agianst India would have been known to you. On my part, I wish them well.
