Hockey: 'Pakistan beating India, vice versa does not mean you are world class'

Victories between the matches do not show that either team is better because neither team is world-class anymore.

KARACHI: Pakistan beating India or vice versa doesn't show that either team is better in the international circuit as both the teams are no longer world-class teams, believes former hockey legend Olympian Samiullah.

Pakistan were thrashed 5-2 by India in an inconsequential round-robin match in the Lanco International Super Series nine-a-side hockey tournament in Perth on Saturday, according to the Times of India.

The loss meant that Pakistan will go into their third-fourth place play-off match with India on Sunday without having registered a single win in the tournament so far.

On the turf, the Greenshirts failed to build any sort of momentum right from the start and struggled to contain their rivals who took an early lead when VR Raghunath struck in just the seventh minute.

India had also clinched the Dosti Cup Hockey event at the Punjab Youth Festival after beating the Pakistan Punjab side 3-1 at the Johar Hockey Stadium in Lahore on November 11.

Correction: An earlier version of the article incorrectly mentioned Sunday as Monday in the third paragraph. The error has been rectified.