I can't wait. I have had so many calls from hockey players around the world just wanting to see this game. Traditionally whenever we as players and coaches attended hockey tournaments, this was the game we all wanted to see. India vs Pakistan is the real magic of hockey.
There is so much at stake here. Pakistan is desperately trying to rebuild its hockey infrastructure. Winning this would give it time and a significant boost to the government providing money to help with its great game. They can't afford to lose; it would set them back.
Pakistan has a very experienced team and know how to win. With all their problems at home, they are in the final and deserve to be there. Age is not on their side, although they have experience; and with 7 players over 150 caps, three of them over 200, it may help with coping with pressure that comes with this final.
Shakeel Abbasi is a proven world class player and at his best could be the decider. Same with Muhammad Waqas, also a world class match winner, tough to stop.
In contrast, India is a well-balanced team with most of the players with around or just over 100 caps and it's on average a younger team. With very mixed results over the last year and still struggling to define who they are as a team, they also know there's a lot at stake. Read this: an entry ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games. An unhappy Sports Authority of India questioning all the money being spent: why do we pay all these foreign coaches so much? What if they don't win? An Asiad gold + Olympics qualification = answers.
The pressure will bring out in each team either the best or the worst. Who will at the end stand and be proud to wear the gold medal, getting with it a ticket to Rio and all the spoils their country will give them if they win?
This is more than a game, a defining moment of two great hockey nations asking questions of themselves.
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