By Sports Reporter/Doha
After two days of absorbing hockey, the teams finally managed to get much needed rest and most of the players chose to be confined to their hotel; lazying around the lobby and besides the pool.
The India and Chinese teams were seen sharing the pool while the Pakistani counterparts later cooled off at noon.
The fight for the top two spot is currently heading in a three-way battle between India, Pakistan and Malaysia. Having registered comprehensive wins, all three have six points from two matches each.
India take on Oman at 5pm today while Pakistan face Malaysia at 7pm which is expected to be a cracker of a game. Bottom-placed teams, China and Japan play an early match at 3pm.
“The scheduling is very tight and this break was important. A day’s rest and we are back in business again. Now on, all the matches are going to be tough. It is important to keep the focus going,” said Indian coach Michael Nobbs.
Pakistan custodian Imran Butt too stressed on the need to be in the zone. “You just cannot lax. It’s not the time for sight-seeing. That can happen later. We are having two tough matches and the expectations are high. And lot is at stake,” said Butt after a light stretching session and a swim in the pool.
Indian stand-in keeper PT Rao also revealed that the morale of the side is high and they too are looking to build on the momentum. “India-Pakistan match on 24th would be a pressure match and whoever soaks the pressure well, would win. We have come here to do that and if we could achieve it, it would be a huge boost for the team,” said Rao.
Chinese manager Yang Liu also wanted his team to put behind their two back-to-back losses and look towards the matches ahead.
“We lost against two tough and experienced teams, India and Pakistan. But the players have shown improvement and we are hoping they would do well in the coming matches,” said Liu.