The Hindu : Sport : Ismail Abu emerges Malaysia's hero

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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
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Ismail Abu emerges Malaysia's hero

S. Thyagarajan

Ipoh : Two key encounters, each significant from the standpoint of identifying the semifinalists from Pool B, held the attention of one and all on day four of the Azlan Shah international hockey tournament on Tuesday.

Malaysia made it amidst a standing ovation from a huge crowd headed by Sultan Azlan Shah. The nerve-wracking final moments kept every one on the edge of the seats.

The hero of the match was Ismail Abu. It was a freak goal by him late in the second half when the Korean defence was taken aback by the bounce of an aerial pass. Abu went for the ball, which rolled into the goal after touching his stick.

The home team finished its programme with seven points to reach the unassailable position on top of Pool B.

Full points

Earlier, Pakistan took a decisive step by collecting full points against Canada, the two goals surfacing in the first half. All the pressure that Pakistan exerted on the rival defence went to nought on account of the gallant display of the veteran goalkeeper Mike Mahood, and the deep defence where Antony Wright produced a heart-warming performance.

From the way Pakistan began it looked as though the Canadians would be swept off their feet. The harmony and aesthetics of the famous Pakistani attack were transparent, Shabbir Khan and Akhtar Ali playing so well to the point of overshadowing the seasoned Rehan Butt and Tariq Aziz.

If Shabbir Khan produced a bewitching goal from a superb deflection off a cross from Akhtar, the latter added the second with an equally eye-catching effort. A perfect solo from near the 25-yard line culminated in a scorching shot.

Strangely enough, nothing seemed to go right for the Pakistanis after those two rewarding moments. The Canadians re-organised themselves remarkably. Spirited defence in penalty corners, with Mahood being the cynosure, closed the gates for Pakistan. The drag flicks of Eshanullah and Imran Muhammad did not deter Mahood or the defence.

Almost throughout the sheet anchor Rehan Butt was forced to be subdued, initially by Scott Sandison and in the second half by Antony Wright.

Admittedly, Pakistan was unlucky shortly after half-time when a flick by Imran Muhammad hit the cross-piece and spun back into play.

Pakistan has four points and needs a win against Korea on Wednesday. The match, suspended owing to power failure on Monday, will be resumed at 2-2, giving the team eight minutes in the first half and whole of second half.

Touch and go

Expectedly, the second match was a touch and go till the final second. The excitement could well be imagined from the fact that two penalty corners were taken outside the regulation time. As is their wont, the Koreans never let a second go waste.

The Malaysians were really enterprising in their workouts and stayed focussed in the tie till the last second.

A word of tribute to goalkeeper Kumar Subramaniam is not out of place for the way he faced the scorching Korean penalty corners.

The new coach Sarjit Singh has certainly worked hard on the players to put the Malaysian hockey on the road to recovery.

If only skipper Chua Boon Huat had taken advantage of the two splendid chances he had in the match, the margin would have been far more comfortable.

The results: Pool B: Pakistan 2 (Shabir Khan, Akhtar Ali) bt Canada 0; Malaysia 1 (Ismaul Abu) bt Korea 0.

Wednesday's matches: Pool B: Pakistan v Korea (2 p.m.) (tie to be continued); Pool A: Australia v China (3-35 p.m.); India v Argentina (5-35 p.m.).

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