There are things in life which politics cannot dictate terms on - Sports is one of them. As far as the game is concerned we are all together.
India-Pakistan hockey never ceases to grab the eyeballs. Matches between the two nations invariably generate an outpouring of excitement.
Nothing in this world can beat the rivalry between India and Pakistan. It is a no-holds-barred contest where emotions run high.
Stats-wise, Indian women are much better than the Pakistan's women team. So are Sardar Singh's men.
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The Indian women's hockey team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after they took the quota place on the basis of its fifth-place finish in the women’s Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium last year.
36 years back, they last featured in an Olympics in the 1980 Moscow Games, where they finished at a respectable fourth position.
The 18-member team are currently taking part in the Hawke’s Bay Cup in Hasting, New Zealand. .
So before the tournament, while they were sweating it out at the camp under the vigilant eyes of chief coach Neil Hawgood, Hockey India shared images of the team undergoing various mental and physical conditioning drills on Facebook.
The Pakistan women's team shared the album on their Facebook page with the caption: ‘The difference in training. What we do in Pakistan camps and what India does.’
The difference in training. What we do in Pakistan camps and what India does.
Posted by Pakistan Women Hockey on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Qualification for Rio Olympics is certainly a big boost for them as all the previous teams have come close many times in the past only to fall on the last hurdle.
Hockey in Pakistan is grappled with a number of negative factors. The growth has been dogged by a lack of equipment and adequate facilities.
Women's hockey will surely progress by leaps and bound in the near future. Let's hope the government and federation in Pakistan work with an open heart to fulfill their dreams of participating in the Olympics.
