Neighbours clash again, this time for the crumbs

Hockey in Athens, tamasha back home. On Wednesday evening, India and Pakistan clash in a minor placings match in the Olympic hockey tourname...

Hockey in Athens, tamasha back home. On Wednesday evening, India and Pakistan clash in a minor placings match in the Olympic hockey tournament that, if you go by the response of the expatriate community here, may as well be deciding the gold medal.

Pakistan finished third in group A, and India fourth in group B. The winner of the match will play off for fifth and sixth place. The loser will be relegated to a play-off for seventh and eighth spot. Since Indian and Pakistani migrants have packed the Olympic Hockey Centre at every relevant match so far, the ‘‘big game’’ is guaranteed to be a sell-out. It is, Indian team members admit, expected to be a ‘‘tense and emotional’’ encounter.

A Pakistani employee at the Athletes’ Village here put it best. ‘‘Woh gore aage nikal jaate hain. Hum isi me khush rehte hain (The westerners win the medals, we are content beating each other).’’

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Yet for India the match is far more crucial than it is for Pakistan. The Champions Trophy, a six-nation tournament involving the cream of hockey, is to be played in Pakistan in November. There is one slot yet to be filled. The team that finishes fifth at the Olympics will get in. As the host, Pakistan is assured of a place anyway.

Given the way it has played in this tournament so far, Pakistan must be favoured to win. The Indian team management admits as much. One observer says, ‘‘Pakistan has played a better and more aggressive brand of hockey. The team is also fitter. It was unlucky to lose to Spain, otherwise Pakistan would have been in the semi-final.’’

In calendar year 2004, India has played Pakistan four times, twice in the pre-Olympic qualifying meet and twice in a tournament in the Netherlands. Pakistan won all four games.

That the Indian team is riven by dissent, with a section of the players speaking out against German coach Gerhard Rach, will not help morale. A senior IHF official today called the behaviour of Prabhjot Singh, who attacked Rach in a television interview, ‘‘childish’’. ‘‘We have been playing the same type of hockey for 40 years. Where have we got with it? We have to learn to change.’’

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Interestingly, Pakistan too came into this tournament with a foreign coach. Dutchman Roland Oeltmans has tried to marry Pakistan’s natural, attractive style with a more solid defence. As it happens, that is precisely the formula Rach says he has in mind for India.

If India win tomorrow, Rach can take his experiment with him to the Champions Trophy. If not, it’s back to square minus one.

Debris found in Dal Lake could be from missile Pak fired during Op Sindoor

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Debris believed to be from a missile fired by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May has been found in Srinagar's Dal Lake. The debris has been handed over to the Air Force for further investigation. Sources say the target may have been a military installation in Srinagar, which is close to the lake. The make of the missile is yet to be determined.

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