THE India-Pakistan hockey series is over and once again Pakistan has walked away with the title. But a win in the last match at least ended the series on a positive note for the Indians. It was a good 2-0 victory, only their second in the eight-match series, which they lost 2-4.
It was really good to see the positive environment in which the series was contested. Especially the pyramid-walk, that both the teams accorded to Sohail Abbas for his achievement in international hockey was a sight to behold. With a 4-2 win, Pakistan took home its sixth win in nine series, against the archrivals. However, nothing should be taken away from the Indians whose team greatly improved its performance one match after another. It was even better considering that the Indians was playing with a lot of young blood in their side and the two matches that they won, were secured with convincing wins (4-1; 2-0).
Pakistan’s star striker, Sohail Abbas was given the Best Achiever Award, while India’s goalkeeper, Adrian D’Souza was declared the Best Player of the Friendship Series.
On the whole, the series was held in a cordial environment, an encouraging sign for those (including me) who say that it should be held regularly. Why, even the crowds enjoyed it, applauding good sportsmanship in all the eight games. The absence of any untoward incident, on or off the field is good omen as well.
However, the one worrisome note about Pakistan’s performance was their defence. Though our forward-line scored 16 goals in the eight-match series, Pakistan’s defence conceded the same number of goals. And this against the No7 team in the world! Pakistan should learn from its mistakes, which they regularly committed throughout the series and they better do it in a hurry if they want to accomplish their next goal; the Champions Trophy in December. Here I would like add a note of concern about Sohail Abbas’ performance as well. None of his penalty-corners produced the goals when his team needed them the most.
During my visit to India, at the invitation of the Indian Hockey Federation, I had the opportunity to meet several former Indian hockey stalwarts, against whom I had played against, years back. The welcome accorded to us in all the cities was really heartwarming.
As for Sohail Abbas, he has places to go and milestones to achieve. President Pervez Musharraf, continuing with his active support for sports in the country, has announced a Rs2 million cash award for the defender who has taken penalty corner hitting to new heights. These types of incentives are very encouraging for players who are motivate to perform well in their respective fields. Lucky kids, in my time there weren’t any presidential rewards! In the end I pray for Sohail Abbas to play long for Pakistan. Well done Sohail! Keep it up. Pakistan is proud of you.
THE India-Pakistan hockey series is over and once again Pakistan has walked away with the title. But a win in the last match at least ended the series on a positive note for the Indians. It was a good 2-0 victory, only their second in the eight-match series, which they lost 2-4.
