MADRID, 5 March 2004 — India lived dangerously before giving their Athens hopes a new lease of life with a 5-3 victory over spirited Malaysia in the Olympic Hockey Qualifiers here at the Club de Campo yesterday, as Pakistan lent them a helping hand by beating Belgium 2-0 earlier to enable the Asian giants to build some space between themselves and the other teams in the pool.
The Indians conceded two early goals before finding their attacking rhythm that has placed them among one of the pre-tournament favorites. Young striker Gagan Ajit Singh scored two goals in the much-needed win as India went through a lot of nervous moments.
Pakistan meanwhile gave Belgium a lesson in clinical precision that once could have only be seen from European powerhouses the Netherlands and Germany. The Pakistanis recorded their second straight victory in the competition even as their prolific penalty corner marksman Sohail Abbas was neutralized by the Belgian defense.
Belgians were too defensive in their approach and to add to that Pakistan were also not willing to play an open game, in direct contrast to the India-Malaysia game, which was a treat to watch as both teams played with a lot of aggression in a free-flowing game of spectacular hockey.
The Indians slipped to z 0-2 deficit within the first 13 minutes of the game as Malaysia stunned India by converting two penalty corners through Boon Chua and skipper Shanmuganathan Kuhan.
India fought their way back into the match when Deepak Thakur made it 1-2 in the 16th minute. Then two more goals within a couple of minutes by Gagan and Indian captain Dilip Tirkey gave the Asian giants a 3-2 half-time lead.
Gagan then took India 4-2 ahead with a superb goal in the 46th minute. But Malaysia gave themselves some chance when they made it 3-4 when Muhammad Rahim converted a penalty stroke in the 60th minute. But a goal from veteran Baljit Singh Dhillon three minutes later wiped out any chances of a Malaysian comeback.
“We were sure we would win even though we were down 0-2 and it is good we have won a match and have the three points,” said India coach Rajinder Singh.
But he said that India would have to do better in their next tie against Pakistan after conceding 12 penalty corners and a penalty stroke to Malaysia.
“It is worrying that we conceded 12 penalty corners and we must not give away penalty corners against Pakistan on Saturday as Sohail (Abbas) is one of the best penalty corner takers,” said Singh.
Earlier, Pakistan went through 50 frustrating minutes before scoring their first goal in the match as they finally managed to convert their fifth short corner only that Sohail was not the executioner this time.
Striker Kashif Jawwad got a clever deflection off a push from part-time short corner specialist Ghazanfar Ali who got into the act after Sohail failed to capitalize on any of the first four penalty corners. The 2-0 triumph gave Pakistan full six points from their two matches and keeps them in the hunt for a semifinal place that will guarantee them a berth in this summer´s Olympic Games.
But Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans played down the huge impact of his team’s second straight victory on their chances of qualifying for Athens saying that he and his boys will only celebrate once they make the cut for the Games.
“Six points from two matches gives us a good start, nothing more, nothing less,” commented the Dutchman. Oltmans’s Belgian counterpart Giles Bonnett was all praise for the greenshirts pointing out that his players were surprised by Pakistan´s impressive defense.
“Their structures were much better than we expected. We saw their game against Canada and were looking forward for more space but there weren’t any for our players to make use of,” said Bonnett.
Pakistan got four penalty corners in the first half but very few chances of actually taking a shot at the goal mainly because the Belgian defense was too tight and never allowed the Pakistani attack any room. The Belgian defenders always outnumbered the Pakistan forwards and at times it seemed they were playing not win but just to get a point for a draw against the highest-ranked team in Pool B.
Sohail got his first chance in the seventh minute but wasn’t given enough time by the Belgian defense to take a full-blooded flick. The second short corner that came just two minutes later also went in vain in the same manner. Pakistan kept pressing for the elusive goal but suffered a setback when their seasoned midfielder Mohammad Saqlain was sent off in the 19th minute.
But the green machine remained calm never allowing the Belgians any room even when reduced to ten men. Pakistan got two more penalty corners just minutes before half-time but Sohail was once again kept at bay by the Belgian defense.
The goal that changed the complexion of the game finally came in the 50th minute when Ghazanfar Ali’s short corner push was connected by Kashif Jawwad. Pakistan almost made it 2-0 a few minutes later but Ghazanfar’s thundering shot was stopped by goalkeeper Cedric Degreve.
Pakistan made it 2-0 this time with a superb field goal by Saqlain nine minutes before the final whistle. Belgium wasted their only real chance of scoring just a minute later when Maxime Luycx´ penalty corner flick went sky high.
