India shut out a ghost, are Asia No. 1

That ghost was buried today in Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium before a crowd of 12,000 which showed up to cheer both teams. The Asiad humiliation was blamed on the then Indian goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi who today said he was finally feeling relieved.

‘‘That (1982 final) was a Black Wednesday I will never forget. But now I think it has been buried. I hope people will forget it,’’ said Negi from Mumbai.

Beating Pakistan in a final had become a difficult mission in the last two decades. But Dhanraj’s boys made it possible today with their gritty display. Of the 12 Asian Games hockey competitions held so far, Pakistan has won the title seven times — all victories came after beating India in the finals.

In the previous Asia Cup finals, Pakistan had beaten India all the three times. In the inaugural World Cup in 1971, played during the war tension, India had lost to Pakistan in the finals. In recent times, India were gradually winning against Pakistan but it was in league matches. So far, India’s victory in the 1975 World Cup was always looked back specially as the last victory against Pakistan in a final.

The player who scored the match-winner in 1975 Cup, Ashok Kumar, son of the legendary Dhyan Chand, said he was thrilled at the sight of the Indian players looking relaxed in the match today.

‘‘I can tell you from experience how desperate players from both teams are to win against each other. I still remember the tension in the 1975 final. This time too, our boys did not show signs of nervousness.’’The credit could belong to the professionalism in modern hockey as former Indian coach M K Kaushik, who led the country to the Asian Games gold in 1998, pointed out. But that victory had come against South Korea.

Kaushik, who was a member of the Indian team that lost to Pakistan in the final of the inaugural Asia Cup in 1982, said: ‘‘These days there is lot of preparation before the match. In my time, players were told to just go and win against Pakistan. I remember how we lost our confidence but now there is so much mental and tactical preparation.’’ Indian Hockey Federation president K P S Gill felt that tremendous exposure to young players in the current team had made them tough. Speaking to The Indian Express from Kuala Lumpur, Gill said: ‘‘They have trained so much under adverse condition. It has been good for them. And, at a young age, these boys won the Junior World Cup. Some were members of the team that finished second in the Junior World Cup before it. It was Pakistan which cracked under pressure today in the second half.’’ While Indian hockey fans need to savour the Asia Cup title, there’s more tough challenge ahead: next month, they will meet Pakistan again in the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad and have to prepare for the Olympic Qualifier in Spain, next March.

The Asia Cup, pointed out former Indian captain Zafar Iqbal, has ‘‘given Indian hockey the shot in the arm it badly wanted, after coming so close to winning. Hockey is again generating interest in the public.’’