— Asian champions prowling around the corner
About the 1848 Revolutions, in which Europe as a whole had performed all the de rigueur acts needed for a sustainable transformation, famous British Historian AJP Taylor wrote, “History reached its turning point and failed to turn.” Same could be said of our national hockey side and what looked like a conspicuous turning point in Guangzhou last year. The Asian conquest was followed by a valiant show in this year’s Azlan Shah Cup, but a European Tour of mixed fortunes once again generated skepticism. Even the ongoing inaugural Asian Champions’ Trophy has witnessed an assortment of competence and slapdash from Pakistan.
Before Friday’s league fixture between the arch-rivals, Asif Bajwa claimed that the ongoing tournament will serve as a good “build-up” for next year’s “ultimate target” of a robust show in London Olympics. Indian coach Micheal Nobbs, on the contrary, flaunted the contest as something bordering on a pressure cooker situation for his side, who needed a win to keep their destiny in their own hands. Nobbs’ assertion, which stipulated that his side should stand up and be counted, was in stark contrast to his predecessor Harinder Singh’s habitual down-play of legendary the match-up.
The discrepancy between the voices from the Indian and Pakistani camps was reflected in the first half on Friday, as India came out the hungrier of the two sides. India dominated the intriguing, yet infertile, first half but Pakistan riposted strongly in the second with early second half goals from Waqas and Irfan. However the Green Shirts, quite often complacency’s prey, conceded from an indirect penalty corner in next to no time. The controversy engulfing Danish Mujtaba’s 53rd minute equalizer has swathed the smugness of our side, who couldn’t reinforce the two-goal cushion which was snatched against the run of play.
With honors even, and a draw good enough to unlock the access to Sunday’s final, Pakistan chose to rest on their laurels, and invited wave after wave of penetrative Indian pressure. Earlier in the tournament the Japanese side exposed our complacency ruthlessly after we had chosen to cling onto a narrow 1-0 lead in the first half. Such conservative tactics should be shunned if we want to prevail over a rejuvenated Indian side.
The Indian midfield was dynamic on Friday with Ravi Pal and Gurbaj Singh causing constant menace for our defense, and these two must be marked tightly in Today’s final to prevent the influx of Indian offense. The battle in midfield will be the key contest, having a mammoth bearing on the final outcome. Having already qualified for next year’s Olympics, courtesy last year’s memorable Asian Cup triumph, Asian Champions Pakistan must put on show their supremacy as the leading torch in Asian hockey.
In a tournament, which if one were to be honest has been organized to give the likes of India an avenue for Olympic Qualification, Pakistan need a convincing victory to confirm their arrival at the big stage and finally turn the extensive corner.
— Big Four en masse in Flushing Meadows
How often do we see each of the top four seeds filtering through to the semis? This year’s final-four assembly has been made all the more riveting by the fact that all of them seem to be peaking at the business end of the Open. We had the same line-up of semis at Roland Garros this year, though the outcome of the two matchups can be quite different here in the US. Federer was the first man to beat Djokovic this year in Paris and should fancy his chances again. Djokovic is en route to the greatest season in Open era and a win in New York, for his third major of the year, would rubberstamp his claim.
Federer is looking to add a seventeenth major and a sixth U.S Open to his glittering cabinet. Federer’s graph has dipped over the past couple of years, following the rise of Nadal and Djokovic as the leading men in the game – a U.S conquest, in this cut-throat competitive era, would be Federer’s greatest ever major accomplishment. Nevertheless with the Serbian’s indestructible run of form, Djokovic might edge the match in a repeat of last year’s semi-final. Murray has quite an array of inexplicable voodoos in Grand Slam tennis; however overcoming Rafael Nadal in New York isn’t one of them.
The Scotsman beat Nadal at the same stage in 2008 and he has the arsenal to repeat that result. There has never been a question over Murray’s repertoire – the qualms always surround his mental togetherness and positivity. Rafa has gone from strength to strength in this year’s Open, culminating in a one-sided obliteration of Andy Roddick, and should be high on confidence. However, Murray had Nadal on the ropes in the Wimbledon semi-final this year before a gilt-edged forehand sailed long in the second set. Barring a similarly bizarre capitulation Murray should prevail by the flimsiest of margins.
The permutations are enthralling, and a Murray-Djokovic finale could cap off a thrilling tournament. Au contraire, we could just as easily have a first-ever Federer-Nadal U.S Open final, and boy would that be an event to savor!
— UCL Preview
UEFA Champions’ League is set to kick off on Tuesday, let’s hope the customarily dreary group stages serve up some attention-grabbing moments for a change. Group A is the ‘Group of Death’, with four teams from the top four leagues in Europe. German powerhouse Bayern Munich should top the group, but only just. City will give the Germans a run for their money, but the disparity of European experience will be the defining factor. Villareal should edge-out Napoli for the Europa Cup spot.
Inter are the big gun in Group B, and should end up at the summit. Lille and CSKA Moscow will be vying for the second spot, but the French Champion’s superior quality should supersede Moscow’s General January and February. Group C is United’s annual Christmas gift from UEFA, and Benfica should easily parry away the challenges of Basel and Otelul to join United in the last 16, with the Swiss side piping the Romanians for third.
Group D is a tight affair, with Madrid the favorites. Lyon and Ajax should contest the battle for bridesmaid, but Lyon’s established pedigree in Europe could even see them threaten Madrid. Chelsea and Valencia might shrug off Leverkusen, but that’s not a given in Group E. Chelsea should top the group with Genk being the outsiders. The hardest group to call, Group F has Arsenal, Dortmund and Marseille competing for the top two positions, and even Olympiacos are no mugs. Dortmund should prevail, with Arsenal squeezing in ahead of the French side. Europa Champions Porto should outdo the rest in Group G with Donetsk building on last season’s run to forestall Zenit in second.
Defending Champions Barca and Italian Giants Milan go head-to-head in Group H. Barca should comfortably top the group, with Milan second and Bate third ahead of Plzen. Still early days but this column’s pick to win the whole thing is Mourinho’s Madrid.
— World Champions staring down the barrel
England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead over India, following a tight win at the Oval in another rain-hit contest. Kieswetter is making a name for himself as a competent wicketkeeper-batsman, with a tidy show behind the stumps, followed by a brisk 51 up-top. With the exodus of stars from the Indian side – deposited into the “ruled out of the series” bin in hordes, you never know someone from the stands might be asked to sure-up the Indian batting lineup at Lords. Surely, they can’t do much worse. Winless on the tour, the Indians seem to have their eyes set on the forthcoming T20 Champions’ League. England meanwhile, T20 Champions and the Number One Side in Tests, are making long strides in the ODIs as well.
— All-Blacks’ solid start
New Zealand’s 41-10 win over Tonga in the curtain raiser of the Rugby World Cup was beset with big hits and powerful drives. The outcome was never in doubt but the manner of the victory is an unambiguous heads-up for the challengers. The hosts set the ball rolling emphatically and practically wrapped up the contest in a pulverizing first half. Israel Dagg starred at full-back with two tries, justifying the faith of boss Graham Henry. Kahui, Kaino and Nonu also starred as the Tongan defense was torn apart in the opening 40 minutes. The Kiwis next take on Japan on the 16th and they would look to build upon a brilliant start.
The All-Blanks are the top-ranked team, and are the hosts to boot – New Zealand should look to cease the moment. Anything less than being the Champions would be considered a massive failure by the home faithful. Nonetheless, the All-Blacks have thrown down the gauntlet for the Wallabies, the Springboks and the rest.