New Delhi: India have a chance to bring some smiles back on the faces of disappointed hockey fans when they take on traditional rivals Pakistan in a battle for the 9th position at the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup on Saturday.
The hosts failed to reach the quarter-finals of the event after losing the race to Korea on goal difference, but a 4-2 playoff win over Argentina on Thursday lifted some of the gloom.
Riding on Ramandeep Singh's twin goals, India put up a convincing show to beat the Argentine team and book a meeting with the Pakistanis, who defeated South Africa 4-0 in another playoff fixture for the 9th to 12th positions.
India had their sights set on a top-four finish at home, but now when it's a shattered dream, Manpreet Singh and his team want to finish as high as possible in the 16th team event. Saturday offers them a chance to clinch the first position out of the top eight, i.e., No. 9.
But India want to take it as just another match, and not anything special just because it's against the archrivals. "It [Indo-Pak games] may be special for spectators but not for us. If we do so, mistakes may creep in [due to pressure]. We will treat it as just another game," team coach Baljeet Singh Saini told reporters.
It will be foolhardy to believe there won't be any pressure on the team, and Saini concurs. "Pressure will be there on the boys before the match but once we are on the field, it's like just another game," he said.
The last time India met Pakistan was in the senior Asia Cup, where India forced Pakistan out of the World Cup qualification for the first time in history. Pakistan will without a doubt want to avenge that defeat by pushing India to the 10th position on Saturday.
There's a question mark over the participation of Ramandeep, who was adjudged Man of the Match against Argentina for scoring two brilliant goals. But he suffered an unfortunate shoulder injury in the last minutes of that game, which may leave him on the bench against Pakistan.
The striker is expected to undergo a medical examination and a final call on his participation will be taken only after assessing those reports.
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