LONDON: Pakistan on Thursday bounced back from a morale-shattering 7-0 defeat against Australia to tame Asian rivals Korea 3-2 and claim a face-saving seventh place in the hockey competition at London 2012 Olympic Games here at the Riverbank Arena. Trailing the Koreans 1-2 at half-time, Pakistan struck twice in the second session to slightly improve on their Beijing 2008 position. Four years ago, Pakistan slumped to an eighth-place finish in the Chinese capital, their worst-ever showing in the Olympic history. It was a 61st minute goal from short corner expert Muhammad Imran that saved his team from further embarrassment and gave the country’s hockey chiefs some excuse to claim that the Pakistanis will compensate for their Olympic failure at the 2014 Hockey World Cup in Netherlands. In spite of finishing seventh, Pakistan are the highest-ranked Asian team in the competition. Things could have been different as it was the Koreans who twice took the lead in the match with both goals scored by Hye Sung Hyun. It was an unmarked Hyun who connected a perfect pass from the middle at the right post in the 30th minute. But Pakistan responded in the very next minute when Muhammad Waqas made it 1-1 with a powerful strike. But the Koreans made it 2-1 in the 33rd minute after the umpire rejected a Pakistan referral on a goal scored by Hyun. Pakistan returned after the breather with a more purposeful plan and after a series of attempts Abdul Haseem Khan levelled scores after netting the ball with an excellent left flick on his own rebound. Nine minutes before the final whistle, Imran converted a short corner with a perfect flick and was duly hugged by his captain Sohail Abbas, playing his 350th international. Pakistan’s below-par showing has ignited severe criticism and calls are being made for heads to roll. But a top Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) official urged for patience, stressing that the team was in a development stage and will bounce back in the Hockey World Cup to be held two years from now. “We flopped in one match (against Australia) otherwise our team’s performance here wasn’t bad,” believes Asif Bajwa, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary. “The bad thing is that we have finished seventh here but the good thing is that we have not lost hope and I’m confident that our team will bounce back at the World Cup because all our planning is focussed on that event.” Meanwhile, a few of the team’s aging senior players are set to quit in the wake of the London disaster. According to sources, Rehan Butt, the seasoned striker, is planning to retire while others including Abbasi will also be under pressure to quit. But Bajwa made it clear that the PHF won’t pressurise any player to retire from international hockey. “It’s a decision that has to be taken by the players themselves,” he said. “We will sit down soon to chalk out our strategy for the World Cup and will include any player who we believe can prove to be beneficial for the team.”
