Hockey: This Indian team better than peers, says former Pak striker Sardar

Sardar is all praise for India's talents and attacking brand of hockey

Hockey: This Indian team better than peers, says former Pak striker Sardar The Indian hockey team's ability to bounce back from behind has been remarkable | AFP

After Pakistan's campaign came to an end in the World Cup, Pakistan striker Hassan Sardar met Indian coach Harendra Singh and gave him a tight hug, wishing him all the very best. He added, “We are out, but you must go all the way ahead in the tournament.”

[File] Hassan Sardar | AFP [File] Hassan Sardar | AFP

While Sardar's wish remained unfulfilled as India lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, he feels India has a lot to be happy about. The prolific striker is all praise for India's attacking brand of hockey and the ability to bounce back from behind displayed by the team of late and puts this team ahead of its peers. “The Indian forward line is eager to score goals which is a very good thing to watch. India has shown marked improvement―the effort they have put in the last few years is there to see.”

Of the total 12 goals scored by India up till the quarterfinal, eight have been field goals. The combination of Simranjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh and Dilpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh have worked well. Sardar is particularly impressed with 19-year-old centre forward Dilpreet Singh. It's a different thing that on Thursday evening, it was the forward line which failed to put in easy chances which ultimately cost them a berth in the semifinals of the ongoing World Cup.

He admitted that leaving out veteran Sardar Singh from the World Cup squad was a brave call, but admits, India has a lot of talent. “I was surprised they left out Sardar Singh, but when I saw his replacement (Nilakanta Sharma), I thought it was the right decision.”

Sardar was impressed with the strides Indian hockey has made in the last few years under foreign coaches first and then Harendra Singh. “We need foreign inputs very much still―both in India and Pakistan. Look at the difference in India. Even Harendra, while doing a very good job, has foreign support staff. I have seen India coming back from behind in recent matches. This is a good sign which shows they are physically very fit.”

Lamenting his own country's fall to abysmal levels, Sardar admits that a glaringly wide gap exists between India and Pakistan with the former being way ahead. “We don't have iconic players playing and winning any longer for us―there are no idols for fans to follow like they did earlier. There is no motivation for sportspersons to take up hockey, they don't even get any matches to see and follow the national team at home. All these things have hit hockey in Pakistan. We barely have a pool of 100-150 players left.”

Sardar is also scouting for a foreign coaches for Pakistan after the exit of Roelant Oltmans post Asian Games. “We would ideally like someone from Holland as they play more open attacking hockey like us, but we need someone who will work on not just the senior team, but also create structure at age group level.”

He hoped that with newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan's advent, sports, especially hockey, would also get some attention. “DG Sports of Punjab has already been instructed to create infrastructure in Punjab for the sub junior and junior athletes. I am hopeful things will improve―we are looking forward to the hokey league which is in the pipeline so that players can rub shoulders with foreign players and people can watch live action.”

Sardar is confident that things vis-a-vis security-wise will improve soon and teams would start visiting Pakistan in another 2-3 years.

Meanwhile, Asian Hockey Federation CEO Tayyab Ikram was bullish about an India-Pakistan series happening on the sidelines of a Super Four nations tournament being planned in Asia. When asked if a bilateral was possible only after the Indian government's clearance, Ikram stated that he was confident that the same would come through. “I am in touch with all the key stakeholders and I can say that an India-Pakistan series on the sidelines of the planned Super Four tournament in a neutral country will happen.”

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