Pakistan failed to break Australian jinx and succumbed to pressure and lost the match 3-2 in sudden death period in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament at Ipoh on Sunday.Australia earlier handed 5-1 defeat to Pakistan in the pool match and they again fell prey to pressure and lost the final.
Nobody was expecting here that Pakistan will reach the final. But Nations prayers and team's own hard work enable them to book berth in final. Greenshirts played well throughout the tournament except two matches they lost one against Australia and the other against England.
In the final they displayed superb game and came from behind to level the 2-2 at full time. In the extra time both the sides missed a few scoring chances. But Australia succeeded in scoring goal in the sudden death period.
Australia, the defending champions, were the hot favourites of the tournament and they stamped their authority by winning the final 3-2 against Pakistan.
Pakistan players failed to hold the nerves and succumbed to pressure. The time is ripe now for Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to pinpoint shortcomings and weaknesses of players and remove them to boost hockey in the country.
Pakistan played well they beat New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia and arch-rivals India in the league matches. Victory against India was a great achievement for our players.
Win and defeat is part of game one have to lose and the other to win. Now Pakistani team should forget the defeat and look ahead to prepare for the upcoming events in the future.
