What’s the story?
The Hockey World League semifinals are almost upon us and will see India play a total of six matches, including a certain fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 18. The fixture is a week away but the pre-match chatter between the two sides has already begun.
The captain of the Pakistan hockey team, Abdul Haseem Khan, said that the only thing that matters to their side is to regain their team’s lost glory in the sport and that they are not concerned about playing with India.
“If India does not want to play with Pakistan, it does not matter to us,” said the 29-year-old in a recent interview.
In case you didn’t know
Both sides are fierce rivals across all sports, but when it comes to hockey, the animosity goes up a notch. Pakistan have a better record in the overall head-to-head but in the two teams’ most recent encounter at the Asian Champions Trophy, it was India who notched up a 3-2 win in the final.
The heart of the matter
The match between the two teams promises to be a thriller and it will be India who will start as favourites. Pakistan are ranked a lowly 13th place in the current FIH standings as compared to India’s 6th place, but in a clash as big as this, these things do not matter.
India will go into the competition led by midfielder Manpreet Singh Jr. after regular skipper and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. Vikas Dahiya and Akash Chikte will be India’s two men between the sticks and Chinglensana Singh will be the vice-captain of the side.
What’s next?
India will play two warm-up games prior to the World League Semifinals and will begin their campaign against Scotland on June 15. This will be followed by a match against Canada after a day’s break, following which will be the monumental clash against Pakistan.
Their last group game will be on June 20 against the Netherlands, against whom Pakistan will open their campaign on June 15.
Author’s take
An India-Pakistan match, especially when it comes to hockey, is sure to be a spectacle to watch out for. The pre-match talk has already kicked off and tensions will be even higher once the teams take to the field next Sunday.
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