India Vs Pakistan Finals : Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament

Now or never – win or lose – the historical mental hockey battle is on again tomorrow! India is facing Pakistan after only a day break again in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy 2011 at Ordos in China! Forget about statistics – every game starts from 0 !

Pakistan is playing without some important senior players as well – so both sides are facing similar initial situations. The young Indian team played a good and refreshing tournament – nobody believed in that when they went off to China 10 days ago! And now see what we achieved… India is still on the top of the hockey map – at least in Asia ! Concerning to Hindu mythology something new can only be created when something old gets destroyed – the team got renewed – circumstances and responsible organs for decades of mismanagement have to follow.

The team still has to find its inner balance as the defense in the match yesterday was quite week and uncoordinated. When Pakistan scored the first goal – 3 Pakistanis were free and unattended in the Indian circle. Asking Baljit Singh Dadwal about rating the performance of the Indian team, he mentioned that the defense is not very well attuned to each other yet. Senior players like Sardar Singh or goalie Adrian D’Souza that can read a Pakistan match due to their long international experience can give confidence and back up to the youngsters in the forward line, which is missing at the moment.

During Azlan Shah Cup India lost every match in the second half when the opponent team started to push forward. Individual skills are there, but is that enough to beat Pakistan, a team that learnt the European style of playing for quite some time and focused on their stamina and fitness level? India is full of world class hockey players with the right sportsmen spirit – they are all waiting in the second line for their chance! So go India go and make your country proud –

Only if you continue to fight against all that you were facing on the way to your national hockey dress this country can keep up their national sports. We are all behind you!

Young spirit like Yuvraj Walmiki, Danish Mujtba, Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Sarwanjit Singh are motivated to show that they can do it and that they deserve to play for the country. The mixture is the magic – and on top the mental preparation before the match – and that is part of the coach and his crew. To play a match to get into the final or to play the final is a different aspect.

The stronger nerves, the longer breath, the better tactical instructed team and the cooler heads will make it! Hope India was able to refuel confidence by showing that they could equal a 0:2 score into a draw!

Cricket was yesterday – hockey will rise again…