Spirited Pakistan will be facing an uphill task to clinch gold medal when they fight with giant-killers Malaysia in the Asian Games Hockey Tournament final at Aoti Hockey Center here on Thursday (today). Pakistan trained for the final after outclassing defending champions South Korea in the semifinal on Tuesday.Malaysia will play their first ever Asian Games final in 13 appearances ever since they made their debut in 1958, the year hockey was introduced in the quadrennial event. Pakistan’s forward line must fire against the aggressive and super-fit Malaysians who shocked favourites India with their dazzling and brilliant show in the semifinal and showed their ‘ambition’ of taking gold home.
Keeping in view their show, Malaysia will not be a ‘piece of cake’ for Pakistan. Their pacy hit-and-run game can be an worrying factor. Pakistan will also have work on their conversion in today’s game. Their penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas has disappointed in the competition so far.The Greenshirts, seeking salvation, last entered the Asiad final 20 years ago in Beijing when they won their seventh gold medal in the event, but a major title has eluded the former champions since the World Cup in 1994. Today Pakistan, once a dominant force in world hockey and winners of three Olympic titles, will also be carrying the heavy burden of an embarrassingly poor run in the last two major hockey events of the year.
The record four-time former world champions not working to a embarrassing last-place finish in the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi in March and then slumped to a disappointing sixth position in the Common wealth Games at the same venue last month. Such poor results had prompted critics to predict ‘yet another tsunami of defeats’ in the Guangzhou Asian Games. But Pakistan proved their critics wrong with a superb display of hockey. On their way to final, the Greenshirts beat Hong Kong 12-0, beat Japan 8-2, lost to India 2-3, beat Bangladesh 6-1 and beat South Korea 4-3 on penalty strokes.Pakistan are worried to make compensation after a disappointing year. Skipper Zeeshan Ashraf told reporters on Wednesday that Thursday’s game would be one of the most crucial for his team in recent times. “We need to win a big one to restore faith in our fans back home,” said Ashraf.
Keeping in view their show, Malaysia will not be a ‘piece of cake’ for Pakistan. Their pacy hit-and-run game can be an worrying factor. Pakistan will also have work on their conversion in today’s game. Their penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas has disappointed in the competition so far.The Greenshirts, seeking salvation, last entered the Asiad final 20 years ago in Beijing when they won their seventh gold medal in the event, but a major title has eluded the former champions since the World Cup in 1994. Today Pakistan, once a dominant force in world hockey and winners of three Olympic titles, will also be carrying the heavy burden of an embarrassingly poor run in the last two major hockey events of the year.
The record four-time former world champions not working to a embarrassing last-place finish in the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi in March and then slumped to a disappointing sixth position in the Common wealth Games at the same venue last month. Such poor results had prompted critics to predict ‘yet another tsunami of defeats’ in the Guangzhou Asian Games. But Pakistan proved their critics wrong with a superb display of hockey. On their way to final, the Greenshirts beat Hong Kong 12-0, beat Japan 8-2, lost to India 2-3, beat Bangladesh 6-1 and beat South Korea 4-3 on penalty strokes.Pakistan are worried to make compensation after a disappointing year. Skipper Zeeshan Ashraf told reporters on Wednesday that Thursday’s game would be one of the most crucial for his team in recent times. “We need to win a big one to restore faith in our fans back home,” said Ashraf.
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