Islamabad, Sept 21: Pakistan will have a few tricks up their sleeves for old foes India when the two arch-rivals lock horns for the third time in less than two months at the Asia Cup beginning in Kuala Lumpur today. "Our strongest opponent in the pool will be our arch- rivals India and we have to be at our best in that game of nerves which demands quality hockey for achieving desired results," the official app news agency today quoted Tahir as saying on the final day of the training camp at Lahore.
"During the training our focus was on quality attacks and not quantity. We also worked on group tackling inside the circle, making lesser mistakes in the circle and to create greater understanding and planning in re-counter attacks," he said.
Pakistan is drawn in Pool B along with Bangladesh, China, and India in the eight-nation event. Pool A features Asian Games champions South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan.
The national coach said special emphasis has been laid to teach players to sustain pressure in crucial situations as they did in a classification match of the Champions Trophy and beat India for the third place.
"If I am not wrong it would be another clash between the two giants of the Asian style of hockey and such a clash puts extra pressure on the teams," Tahir said. Bureau Report