With medal hopes at stake, a scrappy India will have to lift their game by leaps and bounds when they take on sub-continental rivals Pakistan in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on Tuesday, in what promises to be an intense encounter.
Five-time winners India were bronze medalists last year, and will be eager to stay in medal contention. But the Sardar Singh-led side, featuring several youngsters, will have to raise its game significantly after surviving a torrid time against Canada on Sunday.
India’s 3-1 victory over Canada has placed them third in the round-robin league standings with six points from three outings, while Pakistan have three points from as many matches. Pakistan’s lone win came against Canada by a similar margin.
World champions Australia are leading the standings with a maximum nine points from three consecutive victories, while defending champions New Zealand are on eight points from four
matches.
The intense hockey rivalry between the two teams has always attracted immense interest. Despite slumping from their position as top hockey nations, an India-Pakistan encounter never fails to be a showstopper at any tournament.
The silver jubilee edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will see the spotlight on the sub-continental encounter, even as World No 1 Australia take on fierce rivals New Zealand in another fixture the same day.
“The whole of India is waiting for the next game, but I keep telling the boys that this is just another game,” said India’s chief coach Roelant Oltmans. “We should maintain focus on our game just like in any other match. We have a tough schedule starting with the match against Pakistan.”
Pakistan coach Khwaja Junaid, a former international, wants his players to display their skills and control the emotions when they play India. “The match against India will be a turnover game,” he said. “The team that manages to defend the counter-attacks better will have an edge. We are now trying to rebuild our squad. What is important is that we follow our game-strategy, play in a structure and show unity in the field.”