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Journalism of Courage
New Delhi, February 15: `Home advantage’ proved to be a myth after all. Not much was expected from a young, experimental side– with an inexperienced forwardline– anyway. But the abject surrender at Bhopal and Hyderabad had threatened to kill all interest in the India-Pakistan hockey series that has fortunately become an annual feature now. India lost three in a row and faced the ignominy of a whitewash, when the Chennai fightback happened. That strategic 3-0 victory helped somewhat in recovering from two crushing losses, and it would also be the plank the Indians would hope to build upon as they renew battle with the neighbours in the five-match Pakistan leg starting tomorrow.
The Indians would take heart from the fact that they had fought back after two straight losses at Peshawar and Rawalpindi in Pakistan last year, to win three on the trot– two in Pakistan and then in Delhi.
The absence of stars like Dhanraj Pillay and Shahbaz Ahmed has robbed this edition’s India-Pakistan hockey series of a lot ofsheen; the spectators’ response in the India leg was hardly encouraging with only Bhopal witnessing a capacity crowd. Hockey is a team game, but fans worldwide thrive on personalities, and the ongoing series has yet to throw up new sporting icons.
The quality of hockey seen in the series so far has been disappointing– even by the falling Asian standards– and the fact that both the teams are experimenting with fresh talent has a lot to do with it.
Talking of new players, Pakistan seem to have benefitted more from the India leg, with outside-right Mohammed Irfan and centre-half Muhammed Saqlain showing the temperament to deliver at the highest level. Even outside-left Asim Naved, who was preferred to Baber Abdullah, has shown promise.
Not that Indians have been without gains. Young striker Gagan Ajit Singh gave enough indication of his striking prowess, though he needs to check his impetuosity at times. Rajesh Chauhan, who has been in and out of side in the last couple of years, also had some goodgames. And yet, it is the forwardline that has given Indian coach Vasudevan Baskaran the jitters. Even after shuffling with various options at his disposal, Baskaran failed to find the right combination, until Chennai.
Baljit Singh Dhillon’s return for the last two matches made it clear that the Punjab Police player will lead the Indian charge in Pakistan. The versatile forward has been in tremendous form since the Asian Games, though he has yet to show his capability with drag flicks in penalty corner conversion. That is an area where Pakistan have groomed a player with amazing talent– Suhail Abbas.
The flat-footed right-back, Abbas, has improved dramatically in the last year and was the highest scorer in the series with five goals– each bearing the stamp of his sizzling drag flicks.
Injuries to three key players– left-half Ramandeep Singh and forwards L Prabhakaran and Sameer Dad– have forced the Indian selectors to make changes in the team for Pakistan. Midfielder SS Gill was drafted in for lasttwo games, while another midfielder Nausher Singh and forward Brojen Singh have been included after their return from Cairo tournament.
In the midfield, the hard-working Tamil Nadu centre-half Thirumalvalavan fit in well as left-half in place of injured Ramandeep, after a shaky match in Bhopal. The other two, Mohammed Riaz and Baljit Singh Saini, have been solid.
In defence, Dilip Tirkey has been the most outstanding player for India in the series though captain Anil Aldrin struggled under relentless pressure from Pakistan’s right flank. The experienced Aldrin, however, was key to India’s win at Chennai when he bottled up Mohammed Sarwar to render Pakistan’s right flank ineffective.
Tactical maneuvering more than individual brilliance, will be the key in the Pakistan leg. While Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh came up trumps in India as his forwards continuously made inroads from the right, Baskaran– now on his second consecutive visit to Pakistan as coach– proved a point, albeit late, with the packeddefence and break-away attacks in the last match.
The Pakistanis are under great pressure to perform, more so, after having been forced to qualify for the Olympics, and will be desperate to keep their lead intact.
It will also be prove a testing time for the Indians. The Pakistan leg has assumed greater importance in the light of the six-nation Dubai tournament’s cancellation. With no tournaments planned in the coming months, Pakistan will provide the right stage to the youngsters to cement their berths in side.
