The Commonwealth Games should ideally be a stage to sharpen up for the future. But despite taking a fairly experienced squad to Melbourne, our start has been nothing short of disastrous. If the 1-1 result against Malaysia in the opener was unexpected, the shock came in the form of the 1-4 drubbing at the hands of Pakistan the very next day.

With one point from two games, India face a daunting task to advance from their pool. We will come up against Trinidad & Tobago and South Africa on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, in the knowledge that we could face an embarrassing situation of having to play for lower places even in this competition unless we win both games. Neither of these teams will be pushovers, especially South Africa.

Even if India finish second behind Pakistan, we are likely to cross swords with Australia ? who are sure to emerge champions from the other pool ? in the semis. And no prizes for guessing who will start as favourites in that game.

There were a few changes in the Melbourne-bound squad from the one which took on Pakistan in the six-match series last month. Dilip Tirkey’s name was discussed but he remains on the sidelines out because of injury. Deepak Thakur came in, while V.S. Vinay was replaced by Viren Rasquinha. Adrian D’Souza couldn’t make the trip after pulling a muscle in Pakistan.

On arriving in Melbourne, Harpal Singh ? one of the two dependable full-backs ? was laid low by chicken pox and had to return to India, and William Xalco was sent to Melbourne. From the evidence of the first two games, India seem to be missing Harpal in Melbourne.

Going back to the six-match series, a few disturbing thoughts flashed across my mind. India lost all three matches of the home leg, but fought back creditably across the border to win the Pakistan leg 1-0.

Talking of the matches played in India, Pakistan were deserving winners in the first one. In game 2 in Chandigarh, India had a 60-40 hold over proceedings and should have come out triumphant. But that was not to be, and Pakistan rounded off the first leg with another victory in Jalandhar.

Just when everybody was fearing a tennis-like scoreline, India came back in style. They arrested the three-match losing streak with a 1-1 result in Lahore. In Faisalabad, India outplayed Pakistan in all departments and emerged convincing 2-1 winners.

In the final match of the series, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan rattled India in first 15 minutes and took a 3-0 lead in the first half itself.

They missed out on chances to swell their lead further, before a scintillating Indian resurgence saw them draw level after the break. It was India all the way in the second half. They not only scored three goals in the space of seven minutes, but also hit the upright once.

Throughout the series, what stood out was the inconsistency of both teams. In India’s case, there was a definite weakness in taking the initiative early on, except in the Faisalabad encounter. It’s an old Indian malady and there is no sign of a cure.

I also feel that Pakistan were outplayed by India in the last 15 minutes of almost every game as their current team comprises several players in the older age-group. This is a very significant development, and may be India have sorted out a serious drawback ? that of conceding late goals and often paying dearly for that.

The other realisation was that India and Pakistan are nowhere near teams like Australia, Holland, Germany and Spain. These four teams certainly make up the top rung of international hockey.

True, results in bilateral series can’t be the yardstick for judging their merit. But the fact is, both India and Pakistan have to show remarkable improvement if they hope to bridge the gap with the top-four.

The one heartening feature of the bilateral series was the total absence of any animosity between the players and among fans. I did not hear a single anti-India slogan in Pakistan or anti-Pakistan voice in India.

Fans thronged to all centres to watch the games with great enthusiasm. They enjoyed what they saw giving one the impression that hockey was back on people’s agenda.