Sam
September 25, 2004, 03:40 PM
Pakistan down India
Pakistan defeated India 2-1 in the first game of an eight match series at the Hockey Club of Pakistan stadium here Friday.
Sohail Abbas scored off a penalty corner while forward Rehan Butt netted a field goal for Pakistan. India's goal came off a penalty corner rebound through Arjun Halappa.
The series comes after a gap of five years amid a thaw in relations between the two South Asian rivals.
Four matches will be played in the first leg in Pakistan followed by another four in India.
India badly missed the experience of sacked stars Dhanraj Pillay and Baljeet Dhillon. Two other Indian hockey stars, Gagan Ajit Singh and Prabhjot Singh both have also missed the Pakistan leg due to injuries.
The visitors put up a resolute challenge as promised by their German coach Gerhard Rach against the scrappy Pakistanis and took the lead early in the third minute.
Through a slick move from the right India won their first penalty corner and from a rebound off skipper Dilip Tirkey's strike Arjun Halappa put the ball in the cage.
Pakistan hit back with their first penalty corner and Abbas scooped to the top of the cage for Pakistan's equaliser in the 17th minute much to the joy of the 5,000-strong crowd.
Abbas took his tally of goals to 262 in 211 international matches, six short of beating the all time record held by Holland's Paul Litjens, who scored 267.
Rehan Butt, famous for scoring against India, latched on to a brilliant pass from the right by Adnan Zakir to put Pakistan into the lead in the 26th minute.
India threatened an equaliser throughout the second half but missed several good chances while Pakistan's four penalty corners were well saved by Indian goal-keeper Adrian D'Souza.
"We are a young side but I am happy that the boys put up a brilliant fight to restrict Pakistan to 2-1," said Indian captain Dilip Tirkey.
Pakistan's Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans was not concerned over the narrow win.
"We are trying some youngsters who will take some time to adjust and that's why we didn't score many goals," Oltmans said.
Six hockey series between India and Pakistan were played between 1978 and 1988 -- two of them in the Gulf. After another lay-off, two more series on a home and away basis were played in 1998 and 1999 before political tensions put the event on hold. Of the eight series played already, Pakistan has won five and India two while one was drawn.
Pakistan has won all six matches against India this year, including a 3-0 victory in Athens Olympics.
The remaining matches in Pakistan are scheduled for Quetta (Sept 27), Peshawar (Sept 29) and Lahore (Oct 1).
India will host matches in New Delhi (Oct 4), Chandigarh (Oct 6), Amritsar (Oct 8) and Hyderabad (Oct 10).
Source: http://thedailystar.net/2004/09/26/d40926040631.htm
Edited on, September 25, 2004, 9:17 PM GMT, by Sam.
Pakistan defeated India 2-1 in the first game of an eight match series at the Hockey Club of Pakistan stadium here Friday.
Sohail Abbas scored off a penalty corner while forward Rehan Butt netted a field goal for Pakistan. India's goal came off a penalty corner rebound through Arjun Halappa.
The series comes after a gap of five years amid a thaw in relations between the two South Asian rivals.
Four matches will be played in the first leg in Pakistan followed by another four in India.
India badly missed the experience of sacked stars Dhanraj Pillay and Baljeet Dhillon. Two other Indian hockey stars, Gagan Ajit Singh and Prabhjot Singh both have also missed the Pakistan leg due to injuries.
The visitors put up a resolute challenge as promised by their German coach Gerhard Rach against the scrappy Pakistanis and took the lead early in the third minute.
Through a slick move from the right India won their first penalty corner and from a rebound off skipper Dilip Tirkey's strike Arjun Halappa put the ball in the cage.
Pakistan hit back with their first penalty corner and Abbas scooped to the top of the cage for Pakistan's equaliser in the 17th minute much to the joy of the 5,000-strong crowd.
Abbas took his tally of goals to 262 in 211 international matches, six short of beating the all time record held by Holland's Paul Litjens, who scored 267.
Rehan Butt, famous for scoring against India, latched on to a brilliant pass from the right by Adnan Zakir to put Pakistan into the lead in the 26th minute.
India threatened an equaliser throughout the second half but missed several good chances while Pakistan's four penalty corners were well saved by Indian goal-keeper Adrian D'Souza.
"We are a young side but I am happy that the boys put up a brilliant fight to restrict Pakistan to 2-1," said Indian captain Dilip Tirkey.
Pakistan's Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans was not concerned over the narrow win.
"We are trying some youngsters who will take some time to adjust and that's why we didn't score many goals," Oltmans said.
Six hockey series between India and Pakistan were played between 1978 and 1988 -- two of them in the Gulf. After another lay-off, two more series on a home and away basis were played in 1998 and 1999 before political tensions put the event on hold. Of the eight series played already, Pakistan has won five and India two while one was drawn.
Pakistan has won all six matches against India this year, including a 3-0 victory in Athens Olympics.
The remaining matches in Pakistan are scheduled for Quetta (Sept 27), Peshawar (Sept 29) and Lahore (Oct 1).
India will host matches in New Delhi (Oct 4), Chandigarh (Oct 6), Amritsar (Oct 8) and Hyderabad (Oct 10).
Source: http://thedailystar.net/2004/09/26/d40926040631.htm
Edited on, September 25, 2004, 9:17 PM GMT, by Sam.