| Islah is confident
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By S. Thyagarajan
Chennai: “We are here to play good hockey,” said Islahuddin, manager and coach of the Pakistan team, even as his players had their first work-out here on Monday.
The squad arrived in the morning after a long flight from Karachi to Colombo and then to Chennai. Quite predictably, the players had to go through a tight security barrier in view of the heightened vigil at the airport consequent to the blasts at Hyderabad.
An icon during the golden age of Pakistan’s hockey and who, as an impeccable outside-right, symbolised the élan and elegance of the Asian style, Islahuddin is managing and coaching the national team for the fourth time after retiring from competitive hockey.
Aware of the team’s inconsistency in recent years, Islahuddin showed extreme caution while assessing its chances in the Asia Cup starting on August 31. He, however, exuded confidence that his side, with some new faces, would perform well.
Quite understandably, he did not read too much into Pakistan’s victory in the four-nation tournament in Moscow recently, but viewed the four-nation Good Luck tournament at Beijing as significant.
True, Pakistan drew all the three matches against Malaysia, China and Australia, but Islahuddin felt that the stint gave the players some exposure to intense competition.
The manager-cum-chief coach was emphatic about the fitness of Imran Warsi, said to be the replacement for the inimitable Sohail Abbas. There was a debate over Warsi’s inclusion as a drag-flicker, but Islahuddin is convinced that the defender is fit for tough competition.
He added that the team could turn to others like Imran Muhammad and Hassanullah for drag flicks.
Islahuddin admitted that Pakistan was not in a position to take any opposition for granted. He listed South Korea, India, Malaysia, Japan and China as tough opponents who were capable of winning the Cup here.
He was quick to point out, however, that he was the coach when Pakistan won the third Asia Cup in New Delhi in 1989 and the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990.
“We do not want a foreign coach,” Islahuddin said while responding to a question on the subject. According to him, the stints of Dutchmen Hans Jorritsma and Roelant Oltmand did not significantly improve Pakistan’s stature.
He said that the World Cup win at Sydney in 1994 was due to the best players Pakistan had at that time. He felt that both Pakistan and India had very good players and coaches.
About the Champions Trophy and the talk of it being shifted out of Lahore, Islahuddin was confident that it would be held from December 1 to 9 with adequate security measures in place.
He, however, regretted Australia’s absence as it has officially withdrawn from the event citing security concerns.
Notwithstanding the tiring flight on Sunday, the team lost no time to get into competitive trim with a strenuous session on the new synthetic pitch at the YMCA College of Physical Education.
The Chinese team, which arrived on Sunday night, had a work-out at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, both in the morning and evening on Monday.
The Korean coach of the Chinese team, Kim Sang Ryul, who was in Manchester to witness the European Cup, is expected to join the team on Tuesday.
(Courtesy, The Hindu)
| Schedule |
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Final Standings :
1. India
2. S Korea
3. Malaysia
4. Japan
5. China
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Hong Kong
9. Sri Lanka
10. Singapore
11. Thailand
Sunday's Matches  |
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| TEAM A | TEAM B | Playoff | TIME | RESULT | |||
| S Lanka | SPore | 9/10 | 08:00 | 6-0 | |||
| Ban | HKG | 7/8 | 07:00 | 3-1 | |||
| China | Pak | 5/6 | 09:30 | 3-2 | |||
| Malaysia | Japan | 3/4 | 16:00 | 5-3 | |||
| India | S Korea | 1/2 | 18:30 | 7-2 | |||
|
Saturday's Matches |
|||||||
| TEAM A | v | TEAM B | TIME | RESULT | |||
| Singapore | v | Thailand | 08:00 | 4-0 | |||
| Pak | v | Ban | 07:00 | 10-0 | |||
| China | v | HongKong | 09:30 | 6-1 | |||
| S Korea | v | Malaysia | 17:00 | 2-1 | |||
| India | v | Japan | 19:30 | 4-1 | |||
|
SCORE TABLE |
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| POOL A | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Malaysia SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 10 | |
| Japan SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 9 | |
| Pakistan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 7 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 3 | |
| Singapore | 4 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 | ||
| POOL B | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| India SF | 5 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 15 | ||
| S Korea SF | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 8 | 10 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 6 | |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 3 | |
| Thailand | 5 | 5 | 1 | 67 | 0 | ||
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 A team should be ready to play anyone. Of course, more |
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