Even as everyone touted Sunday's India Pakistan FIH World Cup clash to be the battle between two of the world's best drag flickers -- Sandeep Singh and Sohail Abbas -- the actual 'enemy' was someone else. And thankfully, the Indians had him sorted.
Even as everyone touted Sunday's India Pakistan FIH World Cup clash to be the battle between two of the world's best drag flickers --u00a0 Sandeep Singh and Sohail Abbas -- the actual 'enemy' was someone else. And thankfully, the Indians had him sorted.
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Indian hockey player Sandeep Singh celebrates a goal against Pakistan during their FIH World Cup match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. India won 4-1 PICs/AFP |
Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar is a veteran of 163 international caps but what could have made him a potential thorn in India's flesh was the fact that he stands at a good 6 feet, giving him an advantageous reach when it comes to defending drag flicks. Of course, the fact that he trains with the veteran Abbas is an added bonus.
The Indian think-tank was well prepared to counter Akbar's tall claims and Sandeep was particularly instructed to flick the ball low and to the left of the right-handed 'keeper. He did exactly that and returned with a brace of goals in India's emphatic 4-1 triumph.
"We have been monitoring Akbar's strategy during drag flicks and noticed that he is very good at balls that are above the waist region given his height. So, we told Sandeep to specifically target the ankle region while taking drag flicks," India chief coach Jose Brasa told MiD DAY.
Assistant coach Harendra Singh too admitted to the ploy. "We knew he would struggle with ground pushes and that's exactly what happened," he said.
Sandeep, meanwhile, was only happy he won both battles -- against Abbas as well as Akbar. "Sohail was unfortunate that two of his drag flicks hit our cross bar. Today was not his day, it was probably mine. Also, it's never easy to beat a veteran goalkeeper like Akbar and that too twice in a single match. I'm lucky I guess," he said modestly.
