There was no smile on Roelant Oltmans’ face even as Pakistan demolished Great Britain 8-2 in their final group game of the Olympic Games Hockey Tournament on Monday evening. The Dutchman who was appointed by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to rekindle Pakistan’s Olympic hopes late last year knows he has failed to deliver and now anything that Pakistan achieves in this competition simply won’t be enough.
And Oltmans is also aware that when he goes to Pakistan where the home-and-away test series against India starts in Karachi next month, the team’s critics would be waiting with their knives out. “We came here with a target and didn’t achieve it so if you ask me whether I am happy with my team’s performance, I will say that I am not,” Oltmans said.
Pakistan now compete in the 5-8 classification games, meeting old rivals India and then either against Korea or New Zealand. The best position they can achieve here is a fifth place, way short of the goal set for Oltmans and his men. His hiring ignited heated debate in the country where there remains a considerable opposition to foreign coaches in popular games like cricket and hockey. Now that he has failed to achieve the target given to him, Oltmans must be ready to face a new wave of criticism in Pakistan. And he is prepared to face it. “Having coached at the top level for years, I am used to coping with pressure,” said Oltmans adding that he intends to continue with his contract that expires at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Rehan Butt came to Athens hoping that he would get a chance to compete against India at the Olympic hockey final. A part of the prolific winger’s wish has come true. He would be playing against India but only in a 5-8 classification game today. “Now it doesn’t even matter which team we will play against because we are no more in the run for a medal,” says Butt who has a knack for scoring goals against India.
“The best we can get here now is a fifth place and my team is ready to go all out for it,” comments Pakistan’s assistant coach Tahir Zaman, who is now looking forward to another Pakistani victory over India. Pakistan have won all the five matches played between the two teams since early this year. The current form book also tilts the balance in Pakistan’s favor. But its always difficult to predict the outcome of Pakistan-India matches and today’s game is no exception. Both Pakistan and India would be trying restore some pride, promising to produce another thriller.
Meanwhile, Indian maestro Dhanraj Pillay is unlikely to feature in the Pakistan-India test series this fall as his team’s poor showing in the Olympics might effectively mean the end of his illustrious international career. Pillay, easily one of the stars of international hockey, himself appeared non-committal when asked whether he would be playing in the test series being revived after a gap of more than five years.
“I don’t know about it. I have some commitments after the (Olympic) Games and would decide about it after considering them,” said the Indian hockey legend. There are all indications that Pillay would not be considered for selection in the Indian team for the test series to be played on a home-and-away basis during September-October.
Pillay himself is a very dejected man. In Athens he became only the 25th player in history to compete in the Olympic hockey event for the fourth time. The former Indian skipper made his Olympic debut in 1992 and since then has been labeled as the face of Indian hockey. For years, he remained as one of the most dangerous strikers in business but could never translate his individual brilliance into glory for his team in major international competitions. “I know that this is my last Olympic appearance,” said Pillay. “And I am extremely unhappy for failing to win a single Olympic medal in four attempts,” he said.. But Pillay refused to accept the general impression that he and his team played badly in the Athens competitions saying that poor umpiring cost India a chance to win their first Olympic hockey medal since the 1980 Games in Moscow. “I don’t know why it always happens to us. We always become victims of poor umpiring,” he said.
Indian hockey boss K.P.S. Gill said that the revival of the test matches would help lift the standard of the sport in the subcontinent. “If we start to play against each other on a regular basis, I am sure we would be able to improve the standard of hockey in the region,” said Gill.
Pakistan are scheduled to host the first leg of four matches starting from Sept. 24 in Karachi. The other three matches will take place in Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore. After playing the fourth match in Lahore on Oct. 1 the teams will travel to India with matches to be played in Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
