Pakistan coach Saqlain questions India's approach ahead of Asian Champions Trophy showdown
As the two bitter rivals gear up for their hockey matchup in the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy, Pakistan's head coach Muhammad Saqlain said on Tuesday that India is not playing "structural hockey." On Wednesday, the match between India and Pakistan will take place in Chennai.
Pakistan hasn't secured a spot in the last four, whereas India has advanced to the semifinals. "India is not playing structural hockey, but Pakistan is. India is simply playing over fitness," Saqlain said during pre-match media conference. "Structural hockey is played by Korea and Japan. India has been playing behind the ball mostly and relying mainly on counter-attacking," he added.
The Pakistani coach acknowledged that beating India will be a difficult task for his inexperienced team. "It's been quite some time since Pakistan beat India in a competitive hockey game. This is a young side consisting of 14 players who have never faced India before," Saqlain said. Although Pakistan has played an offensive style, finishing is still an issue, according to Saqlain.
"Finishing has been an area of concern for us. We have explained to the boys about their positioning during the missed chances. Our center forward will have an important role to play tomorrow," he said. The head coach of the Pakistani team for the Asian Champions Trophy, Saqlain, acknowledged that additional time is needed to focus on the physical fitness component.
"Our team has been playing in an attacking manner after quite a long time. We have been working with the side for two months now. Physical fitness has been the most important task. While other teams have spent over a month on fitness, we haven't had the time yet," he said.
The Pakistani team's coach saw several trends and stated he wanted to see them used against India. "There are still some drawbacks in the Indian hockey team as they drew against Japan. Although they played emphatically against Malaysia, South Korea did not allow them to play freely. We will try our best to stop them," he said.
"I feel India is following Australia's pattern of hockey in this tournament — begin strongly and finish the game early. The first quarter would be crucial. We will need to be patient," he remarked. Saqlain acknowledged that India would have the advantage, but said that Pakistan may still catch their adversaries off guard.
"There is win or loss in every game. While we have a young team, India has a far better squad and have the upper hand. India's penalty corner is their biggest advantage, which is the best in the world," he said. "If we can defend similarly and somehow block India from scoring in the opening quarter, we have a good chance of beating them. We can definitely surprise India," Saqlain added.
The captain of Pakistan, Umar Bhutta, acknowledged the inexperience of his team. "India-Pakistan matches are generally aggressive. The team which will control its aggression better, will perform the best. Despite having a young side who lack enough experience, they are excited for this tie and will give their best," Bhutta said.
"I have been asking them to control their nerves during this match, thanks to my experience of having played India before.". It will be vital to reduce mistakes, according to Bhutta.
"The importance of this match is to minimise the same mistakes as we have done before. It's the final round-robin contest for us. Either we play the semis or the playoffs from here.
"You cannot underestimate any game as the situation changes drastically in the pool games. Unfortunately, we have to play our most crucial match at this time," Bhutta said.
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