Pakistan and India must play each other, says former Indian captain Dhanraj Pillay
Dhanraj Pillay, legendary player and the former Indian captain, believes that a bilateral series between the neighbouring countries can help improve their game which will ultimately lead them to regain their lost glory in field hockey.
Pillay, who strongly believed that the suspension of the joint series has played a major role in letting the game down on both sides of the border, has insisted on the officials of both the countries to restart a mutual hockey series between the traditional-rivals
in order to revive hockey.
The neighbours, Pakistan and India, have remained the hockey power houses and dominated the entire world until the last decade but now they are struggling against the leading European hockey nations like Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Australia as well.
“Pakistan and India play real hockey. The two nations form the Asian style which can still be lethal but unfortunately suspension of hockey ties has hit the sport hard both sides of the border. Both countries play attacking hockey and can learn a lot from
each other,” Dhanraj Pillay stated while talking to The Express Tribune.
The 43-year-old veteran, who is the only player of the world to have participated in the Olympic Games, World Cups, Champions Trophy and the Asian Games at least four times, stated that bilateral series will be of a great help for the youngsters as they
have enormous potential and talent but they do not have the inspiration. This series will serve as the source of motivation and encouragement for the youngsters as they learned a lot in their career when the internal series was played between the countries
on a regular basis.
“I received a pat on my back from my all-time hero Hasan Sardar during India’s tour of Pakistan in my early days. It was a huge encouragement for me and helped me a lot during the rest of my career. The series can bring such magic to many of our youngsters,”
Pillay stated one of his memories of the delightful series that were played between the countries.
Meanwhile, the legendary Indian also advised the bodies of both the countries to arrange the series at a neutral venue if there were some security issues and also stated that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) must play a role in facilitating the
arch-rivals in arranging such kind of series in near future. The India-Pakistan matches are always exciting just like cricket and provide a boost to the game whether they are played within the nations or somewhere else at a neutral venue.
It will be interesting to see if both countries can organise hockey tournaments to bring some exciting hockey for the fans and revive a great rivalry between Pakistan and India.
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