2004 India-Pakistan field hockey test series explained

Tournament:2004 India-Pakistan field hockey test series
Dates:24 September 2004 - 10 October 2004
Venues:8 in 8 host cities
City:Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore
Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Hyderabad
Champions: Pakistan won the series 4-2
Matches:8
Goals:32
Top Scorer: Sohail Abbas
Top Scorer Goals:8
Next Year:2006
Next Tournament:2006 India-Pakistan field hockey test series
Previous Year:1999
Previous Tournament:1999 India-Pakistan field hockey test series

The 2004 Indo-Pak series was the 7th series of bilateral field hockey matches between Pakistan and India. The series was played over eight matches on home and away basis.

Each side hosted four matches from 24 September 2004 to 10 October 2004. Pakistan won the series 4–2.[1] This was the first time both sides were coached by foreign coaches in a bilateral series with Gerhard Roch of Germany coaching India and Roelant Oltmans of Netherlands coaching for Pakistan. During the match in Amritsar of the series Pakistan's Sohail Abbas broke the record for most goals in international men's hockey scoring his 268th goal surpassing Paul Litjens of Netherlands who held the record for 22 years.[2]

Background

Prior to the start of the series Pakistan and India had faced each other 6 times since January 2004. They first met at the 2004 Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur with Pakistan winning 3–2.[3] They met twice in the 2004 Olympic Qualifiers in Madrid with Pakistan winning both matches.[4] In June Pakistan again defeated India twice this time by a huge margin of 6–1 at the Hockey RaboTrophy in Amsterdam. Both teams had a disappointing campaign at the Olympics in Athens Pakistan defeated India in the crossover rounds to finish 5th while India finished 7th.

Sohail Abbas scored 12 goals against India in these matches including two hat-tricks. This series was also in the lead up to the 2004 Champions Trophy to be held in Lahore from December.

Venues

MatchLocationStadium NameDate
FirstKarachi, PakistanHockey Club of Pakistan24 September
SecondQuetta, PakistanMusa Khan Stadium27 September
ThirdPeshawar, PakistanLala Ayub Hockey Stadium29 September
FourthLahore, PakistanNational Hockey Stadium1 October
FifthDelhi, IndiaMajor Dhyan Chand National Stadium4 October
SixthChandigarh, IndiaSector 42 Hockey Stadium6 October
SeventhAmritsar, IndiaGuru Nank Dev University Stadium8 October
EighthHyderabad, IndiaGachibowli Hockey Stadium10 October

Squads

India announced an 18-member squad on 20 September 2004. The Indian selection ignored veterans like Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Deepak Thakur and Gagan Ajit Singh, who all were part of the team at the Athens Olympics after the players made themselves unavailable for selection for different reasons.[5] Pakistan announced its squad on 20 September as well. Waseem Ahmed was made captain after former captain Muhammad Nadeem announced his retirement from international hockey after the last month's Olympics.[6]

Pakistan India
Coach Roelant OltmansCoach Gerhard Roch

Results

First Leg!Match!Date!Score!Location
124 SeptemberPakistan 2-1 IndiaKarachi
227 SeptemberPakistan 1-4 IndiaQuetta
329 SeptemberPakistan 3-2 IndiaPeshawar
41 OctoberPakistan 4-4 IndiaLahore
Second Leg!Match!Date!Score!Location
14 OctoberIndia 1-3 PakistanDelhi
26 OctoberIndia 1-1 PakistanChandigarh
38 OctoberIndia 1-2 PakistanAmritsar
410 OctoberIndia 2-0 PakistanHyderabad

Matches

First leg

Match 1Match 2Match 3Match 4

Second leg

Match 1Match 2Match 3Match 4

Statistics

!Team!P!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD
Pakistan842216160
India822416160

Goalscorers

There were 32 goals scored in 8 matches for an average of 4 goals per match

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Easy win gives Pak series. 2021-03-23. www.rediff.com.
  2. Web site: 2004-10-09. Abbas Sets World Record in Pakistan Win. 2021-03-23. Arab News. en.
  3. Web site: Sohail Abbas flattens India. 2021-03-23. www.rediff.com.
  4. Web site: Pakistan beat India in hockey play-off. 2021-03-23. www.outlookindia.com/. en.
  5. Web site: New-look hockey team for Pakistan series. 2021-03-23. www.rediff.com.
  6. Web site: Ahmed to lead Pak hockey team. 2021-03-23. www.rediff.com.