London2012: Aggressive Pakistan may hurt Argentina: Qamar Ibrahim

By Jawad Hussain

KARACHI (TheSportsNext) August 1, 2012: The former Pakistani star hockey player Muhammad Qamar Ibrahim has   advised Pakistan hockey team to play attacking brand of hockey in Wednesday's crucial match against Argentina.

Qamar Ibrahim, who was an important member of the Pakistan hockey team which won Bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, told TheSportsNext exclusively that an early lead against Argentina will be very handy for Pakistan and they must play attacking game to take the early advantage.

He also criticized the approach and game plan of Pakistan hockey team of scooping strategy and long passes against Spain and said that it was Spain who had a bad day in the field which helped Pakistan to get one point.

“Well it's more of a duty of half backs and forwards and if they can create gaps and show space then defenders would automatically avoid scoops,” Qamar said.

Qamar Ibrahim was also disappointed on two missed opportunities by the Pakistani skipper Sohail Abbas on penalty corners. “I was surprised that I did not see any good indirect variation for quite some time. They always go for direct move in the short corners but if they want to make an impression at the London2012 they will have to mix indirect drills as well.

"The main reason for lack of experimentation is the fact that skiper Sohail Abbas relies heavily on his abilities rarther than letting his boys to do the job which is causing this huge blunder of less experimentation", Qamar Ibrahim stated.

He also urged Pakistan hockey team to keep the fast tempo and attack the Argentinean goal more often by concentrating on the short passes at London 2012.

Qamar Ibrahim also pointed out weak stamina of Pakistan hockey players in the final 10-15 minutes saying, “If you closely watch last 10 to 15 minutes, Pakistan hockey team looks like out of stamina and breathe and the players avoid OFF THE BALL MOVEMENT. By doing this the ball carrier doesn't see any space to pass and mostly commits mistakes which may result in huge blunders".