Asian Games: Formality done with, India looks at Pakistan in hockey

By Sanjjeev K Samyal

India were playing Bangladesh on Wednesday, but the focus was already on their next match against Pakistan. All eyes in the hockey competition are on the game this Saturday when the two arch-rivals clash at the Aoti Sports Complex’s turf.

There was hardly any reference about the 9-0 win over Bangladesh as the post-match interaction with the Indian hockey team members was dominated by the talk of their upcoming game.

The players’ thoughts were also on planning for the big game. Star of the day with four goals against his name, Sandeep Singh said: “We are performing very well, but this is a different Pakistan team. They have brought back some experienced players like drag-flick specialist Sohail Abbas. It will be a tough contest.

“We are going for Pakistan’s game against Hong Kong now and we will decide on our strategy after watching their game,” said coach Jose Brasa.

India has won their last two big games against the Pakistanis, but skipper Rajpal Singh said not to read too much into it. “Though we beat Pakistan in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, the next match is a new game and both teams will start with a 0-0 score line.”

About Abbas, Rajpal said: “His presence will make a difference for Pakistan.”
The battle within the battle will be between penalty corner exponents, Sandeep vs Abbas. “The worth of our penalty corner conversion will be known against tougher teams. In these matches, the goalkeeper and the other defenders did not put up any resistance against our PC experts,” said Brasa.

Though happy with his team’s form ahead of the vital game, coach Brasa was not upset with the playing surface here. India played on the main pitch for the first time and the coach felt it was too early to hold a big event on the newly-laid turf.

“Polypropelene is not the ideal surface. The nylon turf is much better and everyone knows it is in the interest of the spectators and the players. I don’t know why FIH doesn’t know that,” said Brasa.

“I don’t understand why FIH is allowing matches on these newly laid turfs. It takes one year to settle down,” he added.

The main problem is that the ball is bouncing a lot off the pitch and it is difficult to trap the ball.

“India plays very fast hockey and a bouncy surface doesn’t help a team like ours,” Brasa said.

The consolation for the Indians is that it will be the same for both sides. “It is more bouncy but it is the same for both the sides,” said Sandeep.