Sound advice: From hockey, with love

Players discuss the pressure that comes with Pakistan-India games.

KARACHI:

As spectators, Pakistan-India clashes are one of the most exciting and thrilling matches to watch. The crowd goes crazy, and no matter what part of the world hosts the match or even what sport it may be, stadiums are quickly sold out and packed.

In both countries, the words, “Winning this match is like winning the final,” are oft-spoken. It is no hyperbole that no match is bigger than Pakistan and India, for fans and players of either side of the famous border.

The fiercest rivalry between them is in cricket, with the Pool B contest between the two sides being sold out inside 20 minutes. The national game for both countries – field hockey – is a distant second, but even on that field, tensions and passion have run high in many a historic battle. Like on the cricket field, Pakistan hold an advantage over India in terms of matches won in hockey too. Since the first match between the two sides in 1950, three years on from partition, Pakistan have won 82 of the 165 matches that the two sides have played in, India have won 55 and 28 have been drawn.

The most recent clash between the arch-rivals was the semi-final of the 2014 Hockey Champions Trophy, where Pakistan won the match 4-3 in dramatic fashion, with the help of Arslan Qadir’s last-minute goal.

The hero for the match – 21-year-old Arslan – discussed how it felt conquering the arch-rivals in their own backyard. “From a player’s perspective, everyone wants to put in more,” he said. “So fine is the margin in these matches that individual performances often matter more than the planning.”

The pressure, says Arslan, compares to few other moments in sport. “No other team in world sport is under the same pressure like the one which Pakistan and India come under when 1.3 billion unforgiving sport-obsessed fans follow each and every moment of the contest,” he said. “The time we qualified for the semi-final, some of our senior players were praying that we don’t face India, but I wanted to play against them and win.”

Such is the pressure in these matches that passion runs a little too high and tempers often flare. Arslan revealed a little altercation he had with Indian captain Sardar Singh when he and Sardar were off after being shown yellow and green cards respectively. “Sardar was literally hooting at me and the coaches,” he said. “That made me want to win the match no matter what and I did just that.”

One side has to lose: Muhammad Imran

Hockey team captain Muhammad Imran said that while both nations want their team to win really badly, one still has to lose and the players need to keep that in mind in order to escape the pressure that comes with the fans’ expectations.

“As a captain, during these matches, I had to keep the team focused on the game without taking any pressure,” he said. “I just asked them to play the same game as with other countries. Players respond differently to the match so the captain has to ensure that they keep playing as a team.”

Imran also had some advice for the cricket team, saying that they should play their game without taking on any pressure and added that India will have added pressure on them as they defend their World Cup winning streak against Pakistan.

Nerves need to be controlled, says Imran Butt

Goalkeeper Imran Butt echoed his captain’s words and said that whoever controls their nerves better will end up winning.

He added that Pakistan hockey has made the country proud by defeating India in the Champions Trophy and it is now time for the cricket team to do the same.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2015.

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