OF all the major international tournaments involving hockey, Champions Trophy, in my eyes, is the toughest test of skill and stamina. Though a highly respected and much valued entity in its own right, it surely does not quite have the matching prestige that is generally associated in the minds of people with, say, Olympics and the World Cup. But that does not take anything away from it in terms of providing the ultimate test for all concerned. And there are reasons for that.
First, it is a championship of the champions, and is contested by the top six teams with current and high-intensity winning performances under their belt. As such, there are no easy matches on offer, as is the case with other tournaments where one does get some breathing space between two tough encounters.
Second, the tournament format entails a single-league round where every team has to play every other team in the competition. This is a radically different format than what is practised at the Olympics, the World Cup and most other tournaments, where participating teams are divided in pools and those qualifying from the initial stage then play rivals from other group or groups on a pre-fixed sequence. The initial stage, as such, allows major teams to peak gradually and save their best for the matches ahead rather than spending their energy reserves in the initial round.
In the case of the Champions Trophy, there are no such luxuries. Every match is serious affair, and there is not time for teams to gradually peak as the tournament progresses. On the contrary, every team has to be focussed and ready from the very beginning. There is no time to warm up. You have to play your best hockey as soon as you take the field, and then sustain it till the final whistle of the final match, and I tell you it takes some doing.
Pakistan would be joining Olympic champions Australia, World champions Germany, defending champions Spain, Holland and India in this year’s event which is set to go under way in a few days from now. A good performance in the Champions Trophy would boost the team’s preparations for the 2006 World Cup in the German city of Monchengladbach in September. Even otherwise, 2006 is going to be a very busy year for the team with some major events lined up already. Pakistan would be taking part in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March followed by the World Cup Qualifiers in China in April, the World Cup in September, the Champions Trophy in Spain, and the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. As such, the event in India will be a good morale booster if the team could put on display some inspired stuff. After having won bronze medals at some of the previous editions of Champions Trophy in the recent past, and, of course, the Rabo Cup gold earlier this year, means the team does have the potential to make it big this time. They have not lifted the crown for the last eleven years, and it is only this time round after so many years that the team looks to have settled in a nice position to launch a serious effort.
Though Pakistan will miss the services of penalty corner ace Sohail Abbas, who has opted to steer clear of national duty, the boys and the team management can take heart form the fact that they lifted the Rabo Cup without him. Players come on the scene and leave at various times for various reasons, but life goes on as it should. If the team could control its missing in front of the goal, it will not have to depend on penalty corner conversions. Another area that deserves attention is the left flank, which has not been moving as nicely as does the right flank.
The team management, I am sure, would have done enough homework during the national camp to take care of these fine-tuning issues. I have high hopes and keeping my fingers crossed.
OF all the major international tournaments involving hockey, Champions Trophy, in my eyes, is the toughest test of skill and stamina. Though a highly respected and much valued entity in its own right, it surely does not quite have the matching prestige that is generally associated in the minds of people with, say, Olympics and the World Cup. But that does not take anything away from it in terms of providing the ultimate test for all concerned. And there are reasons for that.
In the case of the Champions Trophy, there are no such luxuries. Every match is serious affair, and there is not time for teams to gradually peak as the tournament progresses. On the contrary, every team has to be focussed and ready from the very beginning. There is no time to warm up. You have to play your best hockey as soon as you take the field, and then sustain it till the final whistle of the final match, and I tell you it takes some doing.
