India vs Pakistan: Recent history to age-old rivalry
IT’S been six months but Shahnaz Sheikh is still firefighting. On the eve of the Champions Trophy semifinal last December, the Pakistan coach had said his team has a tendency to either destroy themselves or their opposition. The next day, they did both.
On a chilly winter evening last December in Bhubaneswar, Pakistan players inflicted a painful defeat on India but lost their cool moments later. Celebrations turned sour when, incensed by the crowd, they would flash the finger to the packed stands and make lewd gestures. Like a headmaster unable to control his unruly wards, Pakistan coach Sheikh slapped his players and would later apologize for their actions.
Six months on, he is still hounded about it. Ahead of Friday’s World League clash between the two teams, their first since the December tie, in Antwerp, Sheikh tried to play down the issue once again. “Let bygones be bygones and let’s put up a fine exhibition of hockey,” he said.
The hype and hysteria surrounding matches between India and Pakistan have often overshadowed the real contest. But the rivalry has come alive on the hockey field, especially in the last three meetings between them.
The two matches at the Incheon Asian Games followed by the volatile Champions Trophy encounter in December have had all the elements that a typical India-Pakistan encounter has — classic Asian style hockey combine with no-holds-barred aggression.
Pakistan have got the better of India in these rancorous battles in recent times, winning two of the last three matches. But Indian players boast of winning the one that matters the most – the Asian Games final, which ensured a Rio Olympics berth. It’s a result that has left Pakistan with a huge mountain to climb, and failure to finish among top-three in Antwerp would severely hamper their chances to make it to Rio.
Pak, marginal favourites
However, despite their 6-1 humiliation at the hands of world champions Australia in the previous match on Wednesday, Pakistan will once again start as marginal favourites against India. Just a year ago, Pakistan were skipping international tournaments due to paucity of funds. But Sheikh, an Olympian himself, has managed to hold the squad together.
Unsettled unit
On the other hand, India — though financially stable — have been rather unsettled as a unit. Paul van Ass will be the team’s third coach to take charge in the fourth match the team will play against Pakistan since last October. Terry Walsh was in the dugout for the two Asian Games matches whereas Roelant Oltmans was the interim coach during the Champions Trophy.
Injuries to key players means that the squad too wears a different look compared to the last time they met.
Crucially, the Indian players have not been able to keep their emotions in check, getting drawn into battles and playing into their opposition’s hands quite easily. It scripted their downfall in the group stage of the Asian Games as well as the Champions Trophy. Even in the Asiad final, India were unable to beat Pakistan in regulation time. India won the gold only because of goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s heroics in the penalty shootouts. “We are unable to execute our game plan against them. Maybe the players get too excited,” skipper Sardar Singh had said after the Champions Trophy defeat.
India haven’t been too impressive in their first two matches either. They were made to toil by a lowly France and struggled to convert the chances they created against Poland. Van Ass is using the World League to try out different combinations as he builds a team for the Olympics.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have a lot more at stake. This is the last opportunity for them to qualify for next year’s Olympics. Pakistan have played at every Olympics since their first appearance in 1948, but they failed to feature in the 2014 World Cup, an event that they have won more times than any other country.
Sheikh knows a defeat will dent his team’s chances severely. “We need to win to get a good draw for quarterfinals. We have done that (beaten India) twice in the last three matches. There’s no reason we can’t do it again,” Sheikh said.
