Asian Games: India face rivals Pakistan in hockey final after 32 years

Incheon Intricacies of South Asian style of hockey will be on full view here tomorrow when a resurgent India take on bitter foes Pakistan in the highoctane mens Asian Games gold medal match with a direct entry into the 2016 Rio Olympics up for grabs for the winnersThe match similar to the one that was witnessed in the league phase which India lost 12 to Pakistan promises severe intensity and noholdbarred rivalry in front of vociferous flagwaving supporters of both the countries for whom this is going to be the high point of the fortnightlong GamesIndian field hockey team captain Sardar Singh Pic Getty ImagesIndia and Pakistan had last played in the mens hockey final at the quadrennial continental games way back in 1982 at New Delhis Dhyan Chand Stadium when the latter emerged with a shock 71 verdict after which the then goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi and the panicky deep defense was castigated The two South Asian giants have not met in the final of these Games after that wintry day on December 1 following the emergence of South Korea as a big forceTomorrows game would only be India and Pakistans eighth summit clash at the Asian Games out of which India have won only twice the last of the triumphs coming way back in 1966 Bangkok Games It is going to be a nervewracking contest between the two archrivals and the team which plays better under severe pressure is expected to lift the coveted goldOnce only after 1982 had Pakistan and India took the 12 positions at these Games in 1990 at Beijing when the tournament was played on a roundrobin basis Pakistan emerged with the gold in that edition after topping the table with a 32 verdict over India India are seeking to clinch the gold medal that they last grabbed in 1998 at Bangkok when the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay led the team from the frontTwotime gold medal winners India had last entered the summit clash in 2002 at Busan only to end on the losing side with a 34 defeat to hosts KoreaThey have never made it to the gold medal contest since then and yesterdays 10 semifinal victory over Korea has once again put them back in the reckoning for gold after 12 yearsPakistan on the other hand are the defending champions who are gunning for their ninth gold in the competition since 1958 when hockey made its debut in Tokyo A lot is at stake for both teams apart from the highest honour of clinching the gold and the match is expected to be a humdingerIn their previous contest in the pool stages here Pakistan looked to be the better side iquest combining well in the attack and defending resolutely though the Indian frontlinerswere guilty of wasting a few goldtinged chances The Terry Walshcoached Indians had recovered well to find more intensity in attack and more purpose in midfieldplay but there is still vast scope for improvement in ball handling skillsWe knew Korea is a very good team and so it proved It was a tough match We made some chances which were not taken but as a team we brought in a lot of energy into the game and continued to show it right through However Ball handling still is not that good Walsh had said after Akashdeep Singh scored a brilliant field goal to earn the hardfought win over KoreaAkashdeep flicked the ball through his legs with his back to the goal which was least expected by the Korean goalkeeper to notch his second strike in the competition This sort of creative play will certainly come in handy against a top side like Pakistan who possess some very good dribblers and a superb playmaker in Shafqat RasoolYesterday India captain Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh were very good in the midfield which made the attack look more potent than it had done against Pakistan a week ago when theskipper looked a bit below par Sardar would once again be the fulcrum at centre half and hope to create more chances for the forwardline which is still to fire in the tournamentThe Indian strikers failed to live upto their expectations so far in the tournament wasting numerous scoring opportunities The defense however held up quite well by bottling up the major threats from Korea so much so that the fourtime gold medal winners could earn only a single penalty corner in the match and that too was deflected to safety by an Indiandefender with his stick The team would again be looking forward to a standout performance from its backline backed up by the everreliable P R Sreejesh under the Indian goalThe encouraging sign for India was the return to duty of injured dragflick expert Rupinderpal Singh who was fielded for the first time yesterday since picking up an injury in the second game against Oman His presence would certainly increase the chances of scoring via setpiece situations Pakistan too have a speedy set of goal poachers apart from penalty corner hitters in captain Imran Muhammad and Irfan MuhammadLeading the list of field goal scorers is Mohammed Umar Bhutta who notched one of the two strikes against India Pakistan too have a good goalkeeper in Imran Butt who saved their day against Malaysia in the second semifinal with a spelendid display in the penalty shootoutCome tomorrow Butt too would be charged up to deny the Indian attackers who need to be at their sharpest to shoot down the elusive gold and end the countrys more than decadelong wait for the coveted honour