It was indeed very disappointing to see Pakistan finish no better than number five at the Athens Olympics. I believe that it was the combination of poor strategy of head coach Reolant Oltmans and the team's being off-colour on a critical day that was responsible for Pakistan being out of contention for a medal.

We all had great hopes from this team. It deserved to reach the semi-finals but the coach and the team both were quite inexplicably found wanting against Spain. And that, I think, was the I main reason behind national team's failure at Athens.

Had Pakistan played a more defensive game against Spain the result may have been totally different. As it were, the Pakistanis gave far too many openings to the opponents due to loopholes in their defence.

Having conceded two goals in the first half, the coach should have adopted a defensive strategy but he did not. Every day is different from the other in sport, especially in hockey which is a fast paced game of short duration. And perhaps the team that had co ordinated so well before and after that game was under some extra pressure against the Spaniards.

Roelant Oltmans

(Head Coach)

lt perhaps was the weight of the must-win situation that froze the team and its management. Going down 0-4 against Spain was morale-shattering for every follower of the game in Pakistan. More so because after so long the team seem to be gelling well together and seemed to be peaking to perfection. In that environment, better things were expected from this outfit.

In their only other loss, Germany won but only by the skin of its teeth. Going into what was their opening match of the Olympics after four successive defeats, Pakistan had given a good account itself against the favourites. To the extent that I think had rub of the green gone Pakistan's way, it could have beaten Germany. Again, the hype affected their performance. Pakistan played good hockey but the mental pressure cost them the fixture.

My contention that proper strategy could have contributed to Pakistan's win against Spain is also borne out by the greenshirts' performance against Egypt (7-0 win) and South Korea (3-0 win). Anyway these were the best boys that the selectors could have provided the coach. And it is sad that despite so much promise the team could not produce the results.

However, my criticism of the coach regarding that one match should be taken in its context. Overall, I believe that Oltmans has been a great coach, and his role in making in making Pakistan a physically and mentally sound outfit cannot be denied. In fact, if you see at the fitness levels the team could not have been in a better shape. It was mentally stronger too, but perhaps it requires to put a few big wins in the bag to have the kind of self-confidence to come good in crucial games.

While I would be the last person to deny Oltmans positive contribution, I do not endorse his contention that he did not have sufficient time to prepare the team before the mega event. He had more than enough time before the Olympics and the team had played so many matches besides undergoing practice sessions under him So, this excuse does not wash.