With the 3-1 defeat against archrivals India yesterday, Pakistan’s chances of making it to the tournament’s final have been reduced drastically. PHOTO: FILE AFP
KARACHI:
Pakistan paid for missed opportunities as they went down against India 3-1 after taking lead in a crucial fixture at the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia yesterday.
The loss lessened the greenshirts’ chances of reaching the final as they dropped to fifth position behind India.
It was another tale of missed chances by Mohammad Imran’s side that earned nine penalty corners, managing just a single goal.
“We missed a lot of opportunities,” Pakistan chief coach Akhtar Rasool told The Express Tribune from Ipoh. “Although Pakistan dominated on the field and managed to get into their circle over a dozen times, it was a bad day for us. It was unfortunate not to get more goals and win the tie.”
It was Pakistan who secured the lead when Mohammad Waqas struck a diving goal on a pass from Imran in the fourth-minute penalty corner. However, the lead did not last for long as India bounced back in the next minute through Rupinder Pal Singh. Four minutes later, India were ahead when Akashdeep Singh earned the lead on a rebound after an attempt by Mandeep Singh.
Mohammad Irfan missed the easiest of Pakistan’s plentiful chances in the 11th minute, failing to score with an open goal in front of him.
Pakistan also failed to score in the three penalty corners they received in the final session.
The greenshirts, in search of a leveller, accelerated and took control in the first ten minutes of the final session but failed to find a goal despite several threatening moves.
But India made no mistake in doubling their lead in the 56th minute through Mandeep.
Pakistan got five more penalty corners in the session but failed to score to go down 3-1 in the important clash.
Rasool said the tournament was still open for his team adding it was still eyeing a place in the final.
“We will not lose heart after this loss. It’s a young team that needs motivation. We will learn from the defeat.”
Olympians rue defeat to India
Meanwhile, former Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh defined the loss as a huge setback.
“We have been dominating India for the last several months,” Shahnaz told The Express Tribune. The loss is not only detrimental to our chances in the tournament but it will also hurt the team’s confidence. Our performance in defence and attack was poor. The players also lack the required individual skills, and the team management is not devising a combined strategy.”
Meanwhile, former captain Islahuddin Siddiqui also expressed disappointment on the loss.
“The team didn’t play as a unit,” said Siddiqui. “The forwards missed too many chances and the overall performance was disappointing.”
Shahnaz Sheikh
“We have been dominating India for the last several months. This loss is not only detrimental to our chances in the tournament but it will also hurt the team’s confidence. Our performance in defence and attack was poor. ”
Akhtar Rasool
“It was a bad day for us. We were unfortunate not to get more goals and win the match. We will not lose heart after this defeat. It’s a young team that needs motivation. We will learn from this setback.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.
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Rather than blaming pakistani players, the selectors of India and Pakistan and sit together and chalk out joint strategy as to how to come out from bottom heap and compete strongly with Top nations.
Hockey played by India and Pakistan has withered its sting and needs strong dose of shock and awe