The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Honours even in lacklustre contest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 07, 2004

Sport

Sport - Hockey

Honours even in lacklustre contest

By Vijay Lokapally

CHANDIGARH, OCT. 6. It was a perfect setting for a game of hockey. A compact stadium, overflowing audience and combative teams, very much in keeping with the people's love for hockey in this part of the country. If only the weather could liven up the ambience, and force a result, as India and Pakistan drew the sixth match of the Dosti Hockey Series 2004.

The 1-1 draw did enough to keep the 28,000-strong crowd happy and the series alive, with Pakistan leading 3-1 with two matches to go. The Sector 42 Stadium witnessed a fantastic response from the spectators. Many could not gain entry, an unprecedented happening at a hockey match. It was not a classic by any standards but a contest that had its thrilling moments only in patches. Overall, the match may have done little to add spice to the dull flavour of hockey one has been treated to in the Indian leg of the series thus far.

The teams were inexplicably apprehensive of launching attacks in the first half when time was wasted in trying to read each other. "They had changed their game plan," stressed India coach Gerhard Rach. Pakistan acknowledged certain experiments had been attempted in this match but Rehan Butt summed up nicely when he said "it was an off-day for us. The forward line didn't function as we expected it to."

Tentative approach

The initial movements were restricted to some tentative measures. The players, especially Mohammad Shabbir and Butt, kept changing positions cleverly but failed to make any inroads. The Indians had the trusted Viren Rasquinha manning the defence in the absence of Dilip Tirkey and it put pressure on Ignace Tirkey, who dominated the match with a sterling show. Credit to Rasquinha for brilliantly adapting to the position he had no experience of at all.

Even as Pakistan probed on the right flank, the Indians failed to exploit their left. "We managed to in the second half," asserted Rach but then Vivek Gupta and Sandeep Michael faltered too much, failing to trap in time a couple of times and losing possession at crucial stages.

William Xalxo came up with a few superb tackles, as did Prabodh Tirkey, who, however, was guilty of conceding the second penalty corner with a poor tackle. Pakistan capitalised on that error to take the lead in the 245h minute when Sohail Abbas' drive was blocked and the rebound was slotted in by Ghazanfar Ali. The Indian defence had done well to thwart Abbas on the first occasion when his drag flick was wide off the mark.

The Indians now realised that they had to shed their tentative approach and launched a series of attacks through Ignace and V.S. Vinay. As the match progressed, Arjun Halappa improved to lend substance to the forward line but a goal remained elusive until Ignace got a lucky deflection in a crowded goalmouth, off a free hit. His overall effort earned him the Man-of-the-match award worth Rs 20,000.

Heat takes its toll

The contest lacked pace in the second half and understandably too. The heat factor once again tested the endurance of the players. It also effected the concentration of the umpires, Amarjit Singh and Satinder Sharma, both inconsistent in their rulings. Rach, in fact, lamented "we were denied the advantage twice by this umpire who had punished us at Quetta and Lahore too." He was referring to Amarjit.

The inconsistent umpiring also lead to frayed tempers in the rival camps and earned a warning to Tushar Khandekar for rough play, six minutes before the end. The spirit of the competition was not allowed to deteriorate and the contest ended with the players appreciating each other with a warm handshake.

Rasquinha described the result as "satisfactory" and gave credit to the players. "I think we played well and I'm proud of the commitment showed by the players. All they need now is motivation and guidance," he maintained.

India assistant coach Jagbir Singh observed "we'll keep improving" even as the home team, at best, can only expect to level the series, provided it wins both at Amritsar and Hyderabad. A huge task considering the quality of play in the last two matches. India could draw consolation from the fact that it did not concede any penalty corner to Pakistan in the second half even as it earned four. "A good sign," confessed Rach.

For Pakistan, the shining moment, apart from the goal by Ghazanfar, was a dazzling run down the middle by Shakeel Abbasi. A sensational act for those who love skilful hockey, even if the move did not end in a goal. Such moments were rare at the Sector 42 Stadium on Wednesday.

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