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Sledging is part of modern hockey: Sohail
Kuala Lumpur, Sept 27: Sledging is not limited to cricket alone and it rears its face, albeit not an ugly one, during hockey matches especially involving staunch rivals India and Pakistan.
Kuala Lumpur, Sept 27: Sledging is not limited to cricket alone and it rears its face, albeit not an ugly one, during hockey matches especially involving staunch rivals
India and Pakistan.
Pakistan's Sohail Abbas, arguably the world's best drag
flicker, revealed this aspect of the game and said his
team often resorted to sledging to unsettle the Indians
in hockey matches.
"When we have the upper hand in the game, we try to unsettle the Indians by verbal sparring. Sledging is a part of modern hockey though not many people may know about it," Sohail said.
With India and Pakistan matches invariably being high- voltage affairs, even a minor lapse in concentration could become the difference between national pride and humiliation and Sohail said this was the reason why both teams try to play on each other's minds.
"We know which players are volatile in the Indian team -- Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Jugraj Singh -- and target them for sledging. They also know that in our team Saqlain Mohammed, goalkeeper Ahmed Alam and Ali Raza are hot tempered and get worked up easily," the 24-year-old player said.
And when matters go out of hand, as it happened during India's 7-4 victory against Pakistan during last month's Champions Trophy, it is Sohail and Indian captain Dhanraj Pillay who try to cool things down.
Bureau Report
"When we have the upper hand in the game, we try to unsettle the Indians by verbal sparring. Sledging is a part of modern hockey though not many people may know about it," Sohail said.
With India and Pakistan matches invariably being high- voltage affairs, even a minor lapse in concentration could become the difference between national pride and humiliation and Sohail said this was the reason why both teams try to play on each other's minds.
"We know which players are volatile in the Indian team -- Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Jugraj Singh -- and target them for sledging. They also know that in our team Saqlain Mohammed, goalkeeper Ahmed Alam and Ali Raza are hot tempered and get worked up easily," the 24-year-old player said.
And when matters go out of hand, as it happened during India's 7-4 victory against Pakistan during last month's Champions Trophy, it is Sohail and Indian captain Dhanraj Pillay who try to cool things down.
Bureau Report