What’s the story?
The greatest rivalry in World Hockey will resume as India and Pakistan face each other in the Pool A match of the Men’s Hockey World League (HWL) Semifinal in London tomorrow. The two teams will play at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in the ‘Super Sunday’ of the tournament.
India have enjoyed success against Pakistan in the recent past with the side beating their neighbours 3-2 in both the league and final match at the Men's Asian Champions Trophy. They also won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup match against Pakistan by a 5-1 margin.
Halfback, Manpreet Singh has opined that the team will put their best foot forward.
"We always look at Pakistan as just another team and we always look at earning those three points from the match to advance in the league stage. They are a good side, but we have had a good start to the tournament. The idea will be to stick to the plans coach draws up before the match against both (Canada and Pakistan) teams, bring in more aggression into our game and aim at finishing on top of the table in the league stage," remarked the Indian skipper.
"We play with no pressure. We just want to perform to our potential and enjoy ourselves while we give it our best," said the captain regarding their upcoming match
In case you didn’t know...
Indian men’s team had a good learning experience at the Three Nations Invitational held in in Dusseldorf, Germany which concluded on 6th June. They had one win and one loss against Belgium and a draw and a loss against the host nation. Prior to this tournament, team India had also won the bronze medal at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The heart of the matter
Manpreet Singh has emphasised that the team faces no added pressure ahead of the match against Pakistan. The Indian men's hockey team registered an impressive 4-1 win against Scotland and it was the kind of start that the team was aiming for at the Hockey World League Semifinal.
India had a slow start to the game, which saw many half-chances being created early on in the game but the game remained goal-less till halftime. Coach Roelant Oltmans had to charge up the players for the second half and the results showed as the goals started flowing in. The goals were scored by Ramandeep Singh (31', 34'), Akashdeep Singh (40') and Harmanpreet Singh (42') to seal a convincing win for India.
Also read: India vs Canada, Live score, commentary, Hockey World League semifinals, 2017
India face off against Canada today before the anticipated clash against Pakistan on Sunday. Team India has had a decent record against Canada, having won league stage matches in 2015 and 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a score of 5-3 and 3-1 respectively. India also drew a crucial match against Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics
What’s next?
After the match against Scotland, India will play Canada on June 17, Pakistan on June 18 in what would be a high voltage encounter. Team India will face the world number four ranked Netherlands on June 20.
Team India’s matches will be broadcast live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 1HD Hindi and all matches have a scheduled start time of 6:30 p.m.
Author’s take
The game to watch out for in the tournament was this marquee match-up between the two neighbouring countries where India stands number 6 in the World Rankings, whilst Pakistan are placed in 13th position. Matches between these two nations are always hotly contested no matter what the stakes are. It will be double the excitement and anticipation as the game will clash with the ICC Champions Trophy final which will also be and India, Pakistan match up.
