The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Sohail Abbas on the verge of rewriting history

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004

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Sport - Hockey

Sohail Abbas on the verge of rewriting history

By Vijay Lokapally

CHANDIGARH, OCT. 5. He is an ideal advertisement for the game. A performer known for his consistency and a role model acknowledged for having motivated an army of youngsters, luring them to take to this wonderful game in a big way. Sohail Abbas, on the verge of rewriting history, will be the cynosure of all eyes when India meets Pakistan in the sixth Test of the Dosti Hockey Series 2004.

When two petite hockey lovers at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium implored him to play "better" in the coming matches, Abbas, at 29, blushed like a teenager. He signed their books and seemed lost for words. "I'll try my best," he mumbled even as the two girls rushed off to catch up with the other Pakistan players.

It took time for Abbas to realise that the request had come from two local hockey players from Delhi. He had won the hearts of the spectators with his spectacular penalty corner conversion that left India frustrated and was now trying to accept the reality that even off the field he had a role to play.

A class apart

Pakistan has produced quite a few legends in hockey. The list is long and Abbas is the newest member of the elite club. His humility is a pleasant departure from the arrogance that marks the character of stars, especially in cricket. But Abbas is different in every aspect.

Having struggled to cement his place, Abbas is aware of the needs of the modern game. Endurance, speed and confidence are important ingredients of this crafty player who mans his team's defence stoutly and shakes the opponents' with an amazing consistency that has fetched him 267 goals in 210 matches.

Abbas was rated a poor defender in his formative years and that was the reason why he toiled to specialise in penalty corner conversion like Paul Litjens and Floris Jan Bovelander, the two legendary Dutch masters. "I knew I had to attain perfection in penalty corner hitting and I worked on my goal," reflected Abbas, who was not great at tackling. His transition was steady as Abbas attained the stature of a reliable defender. The Pakistan forwards, like Mohammad Shahid for India, would work to win penalty corners and leave the rest to this trusted exponent of goal-scoring.

Terror

To Abbas' credit, he was quick to adapt as changes swept the game. The drag flick came as a boon and he was soon crushing the opposition with his lethal swipes. Abbas became a terror and continues to give nightmares to defenders across the world. This veteran has taken the art of drag flick to great heights even though old timers contest this dangerous aspect of the game. And for good reason too.

The vicious blow that Dilip Tirkey took under his right eye from an Abbas drag-flick was a disturbing sight towards the end of the last match in Delhi. The incident highlighted the need to introduce mandatory safety measures for defenders during the penalty corner sequence. Face-masks can provide defenders the much-needed protection, particularly against the likes of Abbas. Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here will be the venue on Wednesday for Abbas to achieve the distinction of becoming the game's highest individual scorer. This will be the most-awaited feature of the match that will see India take the field without Dilip Tirkey, yet to recover from Abbas' blow.

The teams:

India: Devesh Chauhan, Adrian D'Souza, Harpal Singh, William Xalxoo, Sandeep Singh, Ignace Tirkey, Viren Rasquinha, Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, V. S. Vinay, Vivek Gupta, Arjun Halappa, Hari Prasad, Adam Sinclair, Girish Pimpale, Sandeep Michael and Tushar Khandekar.

Pakistan: Waseem Ahmed, Salman Akbar, Nasir Ahmad, Sohail Abbas, Kashif Jawad, Dilawar Hussain, Mudassar Ali Khan, Shakil Abbasi, Zeeshan Ashraf, Adnan Zakir, Adnan Masood, Tariq Aziz, Mohd Shabbir, Ghazanfar Ali, Imran Khan, Akhtar Ali and Mohd Imran.

Start of play: 1.30 p.m.

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