LAHORE, 13 December 2004 — Spain ended their disappointing run as international hockey’s biggest chokers by toppling holders Holland 4-2 to win the Champions Trophy title here at the National Stadium yesterday.
Santiago Freixa, named world hockey’s young player of the year a couple of days back, scored two superb goals to give the Spaniards their first major crown.
Pakistan continued their winning run against India edging their old rivals 3-2 to win the bronze medal for the third year in a row.
World champions Germany avoided the wooden spoon by beating New Zealand 2-1 to take the fifth place in the elite six-nation tournament.
Spain’s aging skipper Juan Escarra finally realized his dream of winning the Champions Trophy as his team climaxed at the right moment to stun the Dutch.
Spain dominated the first half and ended it with a 1-0 lead through a short corner strike by Pau Quemada in the 18th minute.
The Dutch regrouped and forced an equalizer when short corner striker Taeke Taekema produced a fatal high flick seven minutes into the second session.
Spain continued to look dangerous, coming close to scoring on various occasions before making it 2-1 in the 51st minute through a low shot by Freixa that went in the net after deflecting a Dutch defender.
Earlier, Pakistan survived a scare before beating India in front of more than 25,000 fans.
India’s young short corner striker Sandeep Singh struck twice in a match that could have gone either way in the last quarter.
Pakistan were clearly the better team during most of the proceedings but almost lost their grip in the final stages of the play-off.
Sohail Abbas scored just once off seven short corners as Pakistan opted to experiment with variations in penalty corner execution. Wingers Rehan Butt and Mudassar Ali Khan were the other two scorers.
India drew first blood in the second minute of the match when Sandeep flicked the ball in with a high flick.
Pakistan responded in equal measure just a minute later by forcing a short corner. Sohail converted it by deceiving goalie Adrian D’Souza with an angular flick.
Rehan Butt, out-of-form since the start of the tournament, brought back memories of the last two Champions Trophy bronze medal matches against India by taking Pakistan 2-1 ahead in the 27th minute. The move was created by Kashif Jawwad who gave a clever pass to Shakeel Abbasi before Butt got the ball and sent it in from close range. Rehan also played important roles in Pakistan’s previous two victories over India in the Champions Trophy in Cologne (Germany) and Amstelveen (Holland).
India got another short corner just before halftime but Sandeep’s flick went too wide.
Pakistan forced a series of short corners in the second sessions but only managed to make it 3-1 off their seventh attempt when Mudassar scored through a sliding deflection on an assist from Sohail. India revived their hopes when Sandeep scored off a short corner five minutes from time. They got another short corner in the 68th minute but failed to stop the ball, ending with yet another disappointing.
Germany’s second string team avoided relegation from the Champions Trophy by recording a 2-1 win over New Zealand in the play-off for the fifth place. Striker Florian Keller scored both the goals for Germany.
Pakistan’s World Record
Holder Abbas Retires
Pakistan’s penalty corner ace Sohail Abbas, field hockey’s leading scorer with 274 goals, announced his retirement from the game yesterday.
“I have played enough for my country and it is now time for youngsters to take over,” the 28-year-old veteran of 222 matches told AFP.
The decision came after Pakistan finished third in the ongoing Champions Trophy tournament here in which Abbas scored six goals.
“I am getting married in two weeks time and that will start a new chapter in my life,” he said.
“I have a few offers to play in league matches in Europe and India. I have not made up my mind yet, all I want to do at the moment is rest.”
Abbas, a nephew of former Pakistan international Safdar Abbas, made his debut against India at Peshawar in 1998 and was soon regarded as one of the most feared penalty corner strikers in the game. He overtook Dutchman Paul Litjens’ world record of 267 goals in October and ended his career with a record 21 hat tricks, the most by any player in the history of the game.
Also hanging up his stick is Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmed, 27, who retired yesterday after playing 258 matches.
