Suhail Abbas: Pakistan’s bagfull of flicks

LAHORE, Feb 25: Sitting on the lawns of the Press Club in Delhi last year, Suhail Abbas had looked a worried man. Almost every query by c...

LAHORE, Feb 25: Sitting on the lawns of the Press Club in Delhi last year, Suhail Abbas had looked a worried man. Almost every query by curious newspersons was on the change in rules in rolling substitution, and Abbas, a penalty corner specialist in the Calum Giles-mould, was reminded of an uncertain future.

“I’ll be a regular member of the Pakistan side. I won’t let all the hard work go down the drain. Inshallah, I’ll get to my goal,” Abbas had told The Indian Express, then.

Almost a year after that meeting, Abbas is now one of the most-feared drag flick specialists in the world. He already has nine goals in eight matches in the India-Pakistan Test series, and has been the main difference between two sides trying to rebuild for the Sydney Olympics.

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Hailing from Karachi, which now has eight players in the Pakistan side, Abbas has already started gaining star status at home. It has not been an easy road to fame for this soft-spoken 22-year-old youngster with an infectious smile. “Sitting on the benchalmost all through the last Indo-Pak series was not a pleasant experience. I know I was being used as a trump card. But I wanted to be in the thick of action. I wanted to test my skills as a full back against the likes of Dhanraj Pillay and Mukesh Kumar.Abbas started as a right-out for his school Habib Public School, but his coach Naseem Mirza of the Customs made him switch to the defence. “I always had a hard hit. And scoring in penalty corners gave me a kick.”

He joined the United Club in Karachi and also learnt a lot under coach Hanif Khan. Of course, his maternal uncle Olympians Safdar Abbas was always there to lend a helping hand.

It was in 1993 that Abbas started practising flicks to add to his repertoire in penalty corner conversions. In three years time, he was scoring heavily in domestic tournaments.

He was the top scorer in domestic hockey in 1997 which got him a berth in the Indo-Pak series last year. “Bham Lomans of Holland fascinated me. I saw a lot of his videos and made up my mind tobe as effective, or even better than him.”

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With atleast three variations in his flicks, Abbas is already being talked about as being as dangerous, if not more, than Lomans.

Abbas makes it a point to study videos of all the penalty corner specialists and tries to adopt good points. When asked about the new variations he has been working on Abbas smiled, “You have put me a spot of bother. I cannot reveal all of it. I have managed to beat the Indian goal-keepers with my low flicks and side-on flicks. There is more to come in future.”

The continuous changes in rules has made Abbas wiser. He realises that a time may come when the flicks may be scratched from international hockey. “I suffered a lot because of rule change last year. But after working so hard on my game, I’m ready for anything. I can adapt to any situation now,” he said.

A flat-footed player, he has put in a lot of effort in his game and now has the confidence to take on the best forwards. Talking about the Indian team he said that thecurrent lot was “combining well as a team. There are no stars like us, but the forwards are dangerous. Baljit Singh Dhillon, the schemer is brilliant. We have tried marking him, but still manages to slip through. Even Gagan Ajit Singh is dangerous, but atleast we have kept him in check.”

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About the future, Abbas said he would continue to add variations to the rare art he excels in — penalty corner conversions. He is not happy to be labelled only as `flick master’. He is also working on hits, so that he gets to beat the best goal-keepers in the world. “Two goals in every match, is what I aspire for,” Abbas warned.