India to take on resurgent Pakistan

V Narayan Swamy

GUANGZHOU: It’s mind over matter or, as national coach Harendra Singh says, dimag over jazbaat as India brace themselves for the Pool B clash against Pakistan. The Indians have got the better of their arch-rivals lately, most recently with a 7-4 drubbing at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last month, but it’s always a brand new battle when these two teams meet.

On Saturday, they’ll start with the slate wiped clean — ready to write another chapter in this enduring rivalry.

But, then, victory will be much more than about a traditional one-upmanship. It will, they expect, provide the momentum the teams will be looking for to take them to the semifinals and beyond. With only the champions of the 16th Asian Games tournament ensured a berth at the 2012 London Olympics, the compulsions here are obvious.

More so for India, who will want to quickly get over the ignominy of missing out on Beijing two years ago. Two easy games, against Hong Kong and Bangladesh, in the league have served as encouraging warm-ups while giving the team a good feel of the pitch. The unpredictable and bouncy surface has been on the lips of every coach here but, then, the conditions are same for both teams. The kick-off is at 12.30 pm IST.

The big victory over Pakistan at the CWG brought the confident glow for the Indians but the 8-nil thrashing by the Aussies in the final will have had the doubts creeping back. It’s time to plug the holes and present a solid team again. Coach Harendra needs no reminder of the loss as he was among the first to apologise for the dismal show before announcing that the Indian team will return with gold from Guangzhou. The first steps towards keeping that promise begin on Saturday.
“I have always told the boys that when it comes to Pakistan, we have to use our brain rather than our hearts. We have always been guilty of getting too emotional. The players have been instructed to think on their feet to get out tricky situations and, more importantly, to work as a team.”

Apparently, the players followed these instructions while registering the three wins against Pakistan this year — the World Cup (4-1), Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (4-2) and Commonwealth Games (7-4). They will have to go back to the pitch with this mindset if they are to keep intact the winning streak.

teams seem nicely matched but where Pakistan, coached by Dutchman Michel van den Heuvel, suffer in comparison is in the way they have managed themselves on the field. India have looked far superior when it came to strategies and individual expertise.

One area which may well see some parity restored is penalty-corner conversions where drag-flickers Sandeep Singh and world record holder Sohail Abbas face off. Both defence lines would have been told to guard against fouls so as to keep these dangermen at bay, but with the inevitability of penalty-corners being rather well chronicled, the teams would have prepared their goalkeepers too to take the threat head on.

“We are not piling any additional pressure on Bharat Chhetri. We have great respect for Sohail but, then, he has not performed recently to warrant special attention,”said Harendra, before quickly adding: “Of course, we are not taking him lightly and have our own ideas to check his progress. Even otherwise, saving penalty-corners is a team effort with the chargers and the goalkeeper all contributing.”

According to Harendra, what India need for a good result on Saturday is the proper execution of all the good things that have been drilled into them. “The strategies are in place, there is a good atmosphere in the team. What we need now is a good result,”he quipped.
About time too. India need to improve an Asian Games record against Pakistan that says: Won two, drawn two, lost seven.

Saturday’s match: India versus Pakistan from 12.30pm IST