Adil Najam
It is the Pakistani cricketers who are supposed to be erratic and unpredictable, disappointing one day and enthralling the next. But this time the Pakistan hockey team seems to be following a similar path at the 2010 Hockey World Cup now underway in India.
On the opening day of the tournament, Pakistan had lost decisively to hosts and arch-rivals India 4-1. Although neither country is today the hockey powerhouse it once was, Pakistan was totally overwhelmed by India. Placed in a pool that also has favorites Australia, Olympic silver-medalists Spain and England, this would have ordinarily have meant that Pakistan’s chances for a semi-final slot had nearly vanished entirely.
This, however, was not to be.
First, England pulled a stunning surprise 3-2 victory against Australia and then, in what is probably a bigger surprise, Pakistan edged out a 2-1 victory against Spain. Meanwhile, Australia has come back with a vengeance beating hosts India 5-2 in their second game.
Put together, all of this means that Pakistan is still very much in the game.
It means that, but really not much more than that. There is much more to go and none of this changes who the favorites are or the fact that the odds are still against Pakistan making it to the semi-finals, let alone winning the tournament. What it does mean is that we remain in the game, at least until our next encounter – with England on Thursday.
Good luck, Pakistan.
P.S… for those yearning for Pakistan’s glory days in hockey, may we recommend this past post on Abdul Waheed Khan; and for those who recall how the beginning of the end felt like, we strongly recommend this hockey humor video from Khalid Abbas Dar and friends – a performance that I had originally described as “the funniest hockey humor ever!”
@Fahim Mustafa…. Can you explain why they should wear white… don’t tell me yo believe in that idiot Amer Liquat and his jahil theories!
Some comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
– “2-1….Gr8…(o_O)”
– “we will loss soon & will out of da tournament as usual …”
– “expect the unexpected”
– “i wish and pray for their success , we should not demoralize their abilities not every team comes up with the cup and not every team goes down to the last , only one stay on the position , but hope for the best here”
– “i realy pray may Allah succed pakistan team in pool to qualify in semifinal and then in final..”
– “Ground kabhi kesi sy zeyati nahi karta…..wish u all best Pakistan Hockey Team.”
– “Pakistan will win Inshallah”
– “dua mat karo kam se kam bad dua to nahy karo…we’re champs…n we’ll proof it soon..(@_@)”
– “wish u all pakistan hokey team…..”
– “when we know the result , why we expect better from them … they even dont know the word ”good performance”.”
– “inshallah pakistan will win……”
– “Good Performance
We should compare that where we stand now….. & where we were…..”
– “superb win against spain….”
– “next england… hmmm quite tuff…”
They should continue Play in white. Hope we can get good victories in our remaining matches. Come on Team Pakistan, Keep our Flag High in India. This is your chance to be recorgnized and become Proud for every Pakistani.
Hoping for the best. Hope we can make it count. Come on Team Pakistan!
Don’t bet too much on the team.
I am glad for the victory over Spain but I think that might have been a fluke given our recent performance