PAKISTAN’S stunning, though unexpected, 1-0 victory over India in the South Asian Games hockey final at Guwahati has provided the beleaguered national sport with hopes of a revival, besides giving the country a chance to rejoice.

In a rare exhibition of focused hockey in a pressure-cooker situation, the Pakistan team held its nerve to beat its arch-rivals on their own turf in a closely contested final which deserves high praise.

Also read: Pakistan beat India 1-0 to clinch gold in South Asian Games hockey

Other than the performance, the significance of the victory is underscored by the fact that Pakistan has managed to thwart the psychological factor of facing up to India in a final of a tournament, after ending up on the losing side on many such occasions in the recent past.

In cricket and snooker too, Pakistani teams have found it too difficult to overcome a mental block of sorts while facing India in the finals of nearly all major events, despite winning league or round matches against them.

The win on Friday has enabled the national team to complete a hat-trick of victories over India in the South Asian Games — the previous two titles coming their way in 2006 and 2010.

It must also be acknowledged here that at the time of its departure, Pakistan’s rather large contingent for the South Asian Games had already been written off by critics who scoffed at the ill-preparedness of the athletes and at the ‘joy-riding’ officials.

To everyone’s surprise, however, the national athletes have lapped up quite a few medals at the Games in swimming, shooting, weight-lifting, squash and now hockey.

Having said that, any notions about the win reflecting an upward trend in Pakistan hockey — the team has not qualified for the next Olympics — need not be entertained.

While the new PHF set-up continues to emulate its predecessors by making tall claims about rebuilding the national team with efforts at the grass-root level and through the new academies, hockey in Pakistan continues to grapple with a number of negative factors.

These include political wrangling, ego tussles, lack of exposure and the debilitating state of infrastructure.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2016