LAHORE, Oct 1: Pakistan hockey captain, Nadeem ND, said there was no excuse for the defeat against India in the Asia Cup final and it was their below par performance in the second half that let them down.

“There is no excuse for the defeat. We were nowhere in the second half, our performance was not up to the mark and we failed to sustain the pressure”, he said on the team’s return from Malaysia after being beaten by India in the final 4-2.

In the second half, he confessed, Pakistan failed to rise to the occasion, and the defence and the forward line could not get into action and seemed out of sting, lacking stamina and energy.

“We were not focused in the second half, with most players, including myself, feeling fatigued after spending our energies in a fast paced first half, and this factor restricted us from achieving desired results”, he said.

“While pinpointing the mistakes of my colleagues, I admit my own faults as well, and have no hesitation in saying that I failed to deliver in the second half”, he observed.

Analyzing the overall performance of the team in the tournament, Nadeem said that except for the final, the team gave outstanding performance, and even in the league match against India they proved superior. He said defeat in the final deprived Pakistan from qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, which was a great loss.

“We needed better planning and positioning in the second half, which we failed to deliver”, he said.

Nadeem observed that Pakistan always giving contrasting performances in different encounters against India and this tendency should be stopped by motivating players to control their nerves, and to play with self control rather than with passion, by effectively countering the game plan of the opponents.

“We have to work really hard on this aspect before we play India again in the Afro-Asian Games later this month”, he concluded.—APP