India and Pakistan, two proud hockey nations, are locked in a heated war of words after they lifted the Asian Champions Trophy jointly on a very wet Sunday in Muscat, Oman.
Pakistan coach Hasan Sardar on Wednesday triggered a controversy by claiming that India backed out of the summit clash on a soggy pitch even though his side wanted to play.
"Our boys were pumped up for the final match. Even after the heavy rains, we told the organisers we will play if they wanted the final to go ahead. But the Indians refused because of the conditions," Sardar said on Wednesday in Karachi, probably trying to shield the team's recent flop shows against India.
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A Hockey India official, rubbishing the claim, said Sardar's unwarranted statement was a "blatant lie". He said, Pakistan were the ones in a hurry to leave owing to an early morning return flight.
"It's a blatant lie. It was Pakistan who didn't want to play as they had a return flight at 3 am in the morning. Our flight was the next day so we had no problem in waiting," the HI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
"By the time rain stopped, it was already 10.30 pm local time and if the match was to start, it would have taken at least two more hours to prepare the pitch. The pitch was completely flooded, even the Tournament Director, broadcasters and commentators rooms were flooded," he added.
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The final match was abandoned after a thunderstorm and heavy shower flooded the pitch. The two teams, both two-time winners, jointly took the trophy.
By the way, India won the round-robin clash 3-1. In the 175th meeting, defending champions India came from behind to register their third successive win against Pakistan. It was India's 10th win in 11th matches, with the lone aberration coming at the Commonwealth Games, a 2-2 draw.
It was supposed to be their fourth meeting in the final after the summit clashes in 2011, 2012 and 2016. India won the title in 2011 and 2016, while Pakistan were victorious in 2012 and 2013 (against Japan in final).
Looking back, Pakistan have dominated the rivalry, winning 82 times in 175 meetings. But India have won 19 of 35 matches played since 2010, making their win tally to 62.
Obviously, this was what Sardar stressed while requesting Pakistan government to release much-needed funds for the team.
"People need to understand the mental state of our players and officials at the moment. The players responded magnificently despite not getting their full daily allowances.
"There were problems with the hotel booking as well adding to the strain on us. But I say hats off to the PHF President, Brigadier (retd) Khalid Khokar who managed to arrange funds to pay off the hotel dues and give some peace of mind to the team," he said.
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(With PTI inputs)
