Pakistan's slide in hockey has watered down their rivalry with India. The intensity with which the teams play against each other remains but the gap is too glaring. Be it fitness, mental strength or tactics, India are way above their rivals.
This was on show again when Harmanpreet Singh and his men walloped Pakistan 10-2, the biggest margin of victory between the two countries, in an Asian Games pool match on Saturday.
At the Asian Champions Trophy last month, India had blanked Pakistan 4-0 and on the day the latter showed signs of improvement as a team, but came nowhere close to threatening India's reputation of being the favourites. Also, Pakistan's lack of exposure and experience were conspicuous.
The first quarter was pacy with Pakistan making a few forays into the Indian circle and even earning a penalty corner, but they ran into goalkeeper Kishan Pathak, who ensured there were no cracks in the wall.
India's rampage was led by Harmanpreet who accounted for four goals, while Varun Kumar struck a brace. One promising aspect for India at the Games has been the frontline combination of rookie Abhishek and the experienced Mandeep Singh. Their collective effort earned India their first goal in the eighth minute, when a speedy baseline move from Abhishek and the resultant pass was slotted home by Mandeep.
Pakistan skipper Umar Bhutta made some early circle penetrations but found little support from his teammates.
At the other end, the Pakistan defence was under severe pressure and committed elementary errors resulting in two penalty strokes which were converted by Harmanpreet (11 &17). At half-time, India had raced to a 4-0 lead.
The margin could have swelled if not for Lalit Upadhyay, who missed some regulation shots at the goal. India looked well in control at 6-0 after the break when Sufiyan Mohammed pulled one back for Pakistan with a powerful drag-flick in the 38th minute. In the dying moments of the third quarter, Abdul Rana converted another penalty corner for Pakistan. Having let complacency creep into their backline, India pulled themselves together in the final quarter to maintain their supremacy.
