Brothers in arms: Rajpal and Zeeshan eye top prize
New Delhi, Feb. 26: Amidst a row of foreigners, they sat like brothers in arms, speaking a language alien to the rest. The tongue and the mission may be the same, but they are two nations for whom winning a match against each other is more than just sport.
India skipper Rajpal Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Zeeshan Ashraf held center stage at a media interaction with a few other Hockey World Cup skippers here on Friday. With the focus entirely on the India versus Pakistan encounter on Sunday, the tension is palpable.
Although Rajpal made an effort to sound relaxed, coming up with wisecracks during the interaction, tension was writ large on his face.
Speaking about the most eagerly awaited match of the tournament, the lanky forward said, “The tournament by itself is very important for Indian hockey. Like the other teams we too are confident of making it to the semifinals. It is good that we are playing Pakistan in the first match. People have expectations from us, and we will work towards living up to them.” Asked about goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza fitting into the shoes of the injured Baljit Singh, Rajpal gave the thumbs up to the Mumbaikar.
“Adrian is doing well. He knows what is expected off him and he’s living up to it,” said Rajpal.
In the run-up to the World Cup, the hosts have not been found wanting in the controversy arena. With a players’ revolt and the captaincy row in succession, many believe the distractions could harm the fortunes of Indian hockey.
Rajpal, who was preferred over Prabhjot Singh as skipper said, “The past has been forgotten. There is pressure to perform and I feel this pressure is good. It will motivate us to play well.”
Meanwhile, Ashraf admitted that a win over the arch-rivals in the opener would be a confidence-booster for the Pakistanis.
“A win against India will help our players grow in confidence. There will be immense pressure on both teams to perform. Irrespective of the outcome of our match against India we will focus on the next match. After the first match, we have three more matches which will decide our fate in the tournament.”
Ashraf, who is captaining a team that carries the baggage of being the most successful World Cup side, said that they have set themselves a realistic target of sealing a semifinals berth.
Asked about their dependence on the prolific Sohail Abbas in the short-corner area, Ashraf said, “Sohail is the best short-corner specialist and we are trying not to depend on him so he can play with less pressure”.
When the focus shifted from hockey to Indo-Pak relations, a visibly irritated Rajpal snapped, saying, “Why talk only about 26/11, let’s talk about 1947 too,”
Ashraf on the other hand spoke about the need for sporting ties between the two countries and urged India to travel to Pakistan and play.
Manuja Veerappa