Sakyasen Mittra
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13: Anti-climax. That in a nutshell can describe the thrilling Champions Trophy hockey tournament semifinal between India and Pakistan at the Kalinga Stadium here Saturday. India have never played in the final of Champions Trophy and that dubious record prevailed as the hosts went down 3-4 to their visitors from the other side of the border.
Bhubaneswar was ready to celebrate. The tricolour fluttered, the ‘Chak De’ tune reverberated, the flashlights of the cell phones glowed continuously, the crescendo of sound rose time and again only to be silenced by a Pakistani goal. Pakistan were deserved winners but in the end it was the game of hockey that emerged triumphant by a mile.
Pakistan were definitely the better of the two sides in the first two quarters. Their incisive runs down the left side of the pitch repeatedly caught India napping. In fact both of Pakistan’s goal came from moves down the left. The first goal came after Shakeel Butt ran down the left and crossed for Muhammad Arslan Qadir who pushed the ball past PR Sreejesh.
The second early in the third quarter came when Qadir sent a diagonal ball from the top of th ‘D’ for Muhammad Waqas to tap in. And their third was a beauty that had the Indian defence in tatters. Off a penalty corner skipper Muhammad Imran, just back-flicked the ball for Muhammad Irfan who scored with a firm push with the Indian defenders going the wrong
way. And the fourth which was scored by Qadir with a minute came in the last minute of play took the wind out of India’s sails.
In spite of taking the lead in the 12th minute of play, it was only from the middle of the third quarter that India started controlling proceedings. Their fitness and speed started having an effect on the Pakistan team. India went ahead when Gurbaj Singh hit the target off a penalty corner. After falling behind 1-2, it was the turn of Dharamvir Singh to restore parity with a brilliant back-handed flick that beat Imran Butt in the Pakistan goal hands down. Nikin Thimmaiah gave India their third lifeline scoring off pass from Manpreet Singh. But then it was not meant to be India’s day as the defenders time and again committed silly errors inside their own ‘D’.
Qadir, Irfan and Shafqat Rasool played an outstanding game for Pakistan. They were all over the pitch, repeatedly falling back to help the defenders whenever India mounted pressure. As for the Indians, it was SV Sunil who caught the eye with his speedy runs down the middle. India themselves are to blame for this loss. Had India utilised the chances that came their way, the city would have partied till night. Instead, they now have to drag their tired bodies for a bronze medal match against Australia, Sunday. Even if they get bronze, it will be an achievement indeed, as India have never finished on the podium in the Champions Trophy.
