New Delhi: It's been a largely forgettable tournament for four-time World Cup champions Pakistan. Having started on a low, losing to India on Day 1, they seemed to have resurrected their chances with a win over Olympic silver medalists Spain. After that though, they have gone steadily downhill.
Having come into the event in reasonable form — finishing second in the Champions Challenge and holding the Netherlands to two successive draws in warm-up games in Doha — they were thought to be good outside bets to get into the decisive phase of the Hero Honda World Cup.
Shock defeat
It hasn't quite panned out that way, and their loss to rank outsiders South Africa, who had earlier been hammered 12-0 by Australia, would probably count as one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Its been a collective failure, and one which has taken their biggest star, Sohail Abbas, by surprise.
"We were playing well coming into this tournament. We approached the world cup with a lot of confidence, but things haven't fallen into place for us here," says the Pakistan left-back.
The only man in world hockey with over 300 international goals to his name, Abbas is a true legend of the game. It was on him that Pakistan had banked to get the goals, but he has been strangely off colour here, having scored only once in the tournament so far.
Abbas though attributes this to luck, just as he does his success. "Whatever I have achieved in this game is due to the grace of Allah,'' says the 32-year-old. "I have scored many goals where I aimed in one place and the ball went into the goal, but in another direction … that wasn't my doing. There was a higher power at work. In the same way, I have missed a few goals here that should have gone in. That was because Allah had not willed the ball to go in.''
Blaming it on bad luck
That certainly seemed to be the case when Pakistan played India and Abbas hit the crossbar not once, but twice, prompting a scream of frustration from the veteran. "Its natural, isn't it?" he asks with a wry smile, "When you think you have just executed the perfect corner, the ball hits the post and comes back. And then, it happens again … that too in a match against India! Nobody wants to hit the post, so of course, it was disappointing."
Notwithstanding his muted performance in Delhi, it has been a great career for the man from Karachi, who began his career as a raw 18-year-old back in 1998.
"I have had many memorable moments and have enjoyed every bit of my career. When I started, I was simply in the team for my corners since the rule allowed me to come on just for the short corners and then straight off again, I never touched the ball in open play. When the rule changed, I had to adapt and improve my skills," he says.
In fact, when the FIH amended the rule and forbade any substitution during a penalty corner, the youngster with the killer flick was sidelined by Pakistan's coaches until they found him good enough to take the field as a defender. But doubts have always remained regarding his ability as field player and several teams have sought to exploit his suspect mobility.
Abbas' ability from the top of the D though has ensured that he remained part of the team for so long. He's had his struggles, being held responsible every time Pakistan failed to perform on the big stage, leading him to retire a couple of times, always returning when coaches summoned him. "I have always maintained that I will be available for national selection as long as my country needs me. Nothing is more important than playing for the country. I retired because I felt I was surplus to requirements. But when the call came, I was ready to do whatever I could,'' he says.
Now the knives are out again. The chief selector Hassan Sardar, another legend of the game in his own right, has come out openly to say that if the likes of Abbas let the team down, there is very little anybody else could do. The player himself though has a clear conscience. "I don't deliberately miss penalty corners. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't. I know that I always give my best on the pitch, the rest is not up to me."
It is probably this pressure that has led Abbas to flee the shores of his country to play club hockey in the Netherlands for HC Rotterdam, where he plays alongside old friend Waseem Ahmad, New Zealand internationals Phil Burrows, Ryan Archibald and Simon Child, as well Dutch star Jeroen Hertzberger. "I went abroad to learn and it has been an eye-opener. I have learnt new techniques, training methods and even what to eat. We in Asia just go out and play on the pitch. But in Europe, you learn how much planning goes into the game,'' he explains.
"Of course, there is nothing like my own nation, Pakistan, so whatever I do, however much I earn, I will always belong to Pakistan. Whenever I am needed, I will come running for my country. Sometime down the line, I hope to pass on what I have learnt in my career to the youngsters in Pakistan,'' he says.
This may be the last major international tournament for the Pakistani hitman and if that's the case, he will leave the game with a massive regret — never having won a medal in either the Olympics or the World Cup.
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