Sohail Abbas BREAKS World Record for Most Goals in Field Hockey

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
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Sohail Abbas today equalled the record for Most goals in field hockey by scoring two goals in the match against India played on friday. He now holds the record with Holland’s legend Litjens (sp?) with a whopping tally of 267 goals.

Hopefully he will be the sole owner of the record come next match. That is an outstanding achievement and he has make all pakistanis proud.He is a genuine match winner and has won many matches for Pakistan in pressure cooker situations. His conversion rate is high for a short corner exert and thats why he is considered the best. :k:

Go Sohail Go!!! :jhanda: :bhangra:

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The Great man. :jhanda:

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I am still learning, says Sohail Abbas](http://inhome.rediff.com/sports/2004/oct/04sohail.htm)

He may have equalled Paul Litjens’s record as the leading goal scorer in hockey, but Sohail Abbas is not ready to accept that he is in the same league as the former Dutch penalty-corner expert.

Abbas scored two goals in Pakistan’s 3-1 victory over India in Delhi on Monday to take his goal tally to 267 goals. With three more matches to go in the series, the Pakistani is all set to surge ahead.

“It’s a big honour to reach the mark. It’s a great feeling to equal Litjens. But I am still learning and when comparison with Litjens comes, I still consider myself a kid,” Sohail told reporters after the match.

The stage was perfect, so was the opposition and the venue. The ace drag-flicker said he could not have asked for anything better to equal the record.

"It’s great to equal Litjens in the Friendship Series against India and in India. It’s nice to achieve the feat over here, where the crowd was just fantastic.

“I enjoyed every bit of the match, although it was a bit humid and we took some time to settle down,” the 29-year-old player said.

Abbas, who has the distinction of scoring the highest number of goals in a calendar year with 60 strikes, is also the fastest player to reach both 100 and 200 goals.

But more than setting any target for himself, Abbas, who made his international debut in 1998, is happy playing for Pakistan.

“I am quite happy to score goals; I never set any target. So I am a little surprised to reach the milestone today. At best I was looking to do well in this series and the December Champions Trophy which is quite important for us,” said Abbas, a veteran of 210 internationals.

He was happy to see Pakistan get off to a good start in India and hoped the players would carry forward the good work in the remaining matches of the series.

“It’s a perfect start. We played well and, more importantly, performed as a team. That made the difference in the end,” he said.

Abbas also spoke highly of the Indian team, saying the young side has a great future.

“It is a good team though it lost today. The players are really fine performers and I have no doubt that India will bounce back to the top very soon.”

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This is very impressive. Good goinf, Sohail. :k:

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SOHAIL ABBAS EQUALS PAUL LITJENS’S WORLD RECORD AT DELHI

PAKISTAN OVERPOWERS INDIA 3-1 IN FIFTH TEST

By : Syed Akber Ali Wahidi

It was penalty-stroke, not penalty corner, through which world's crack penalty corner shooter Sohail Abbas equals World Record of most goals in field hockey. It was Sohail’s 267th goal in the 63rd minute of play that put Pakistan into firm 3-1 lead at New Delhi’s Dhyan Chand Stadium on Monday (4 October). It was Pakistan’s 61st win over India in 118 matches while India managed 37 wins. Pakistan managed 283 and conceded 214 goals in these 118 encounters

Pakistan's goal-churning machine equals 22-year-old record of legendary Dutch PC specialist Paul Litjens. Sohail, who was leading scorer of 28th Olympic Games Hockey Tournament at Athens with 11 goals, is also currently leading marksmen list of 9th Indo-Pak Series with six goals. Mixing his scorching drives with rasping drag-flicks, full back Sohail, now deputy of midfielder Wasim Ahmed in Pakistani team, has proved to be the bane of rival defenders.

Nicknamed the 'Executioner', Paul Litjens, born 87 days after Pakistan’s Independence, lived for long in the shadow of Ties Kruize, but got his break in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Using a stick of the maximum permissible weight, Litjens for many years was the most feared PC striker in the world. He bid adieu after the fifth World Cup at Mumbai 1982, where he captained the Dutch team. Litjens played in four World Cups, two Olympics and two Champions Trophies (CT). His tally was 267 goals in 177 internationals.

It was sixth meeting between the two outfits at Indian capital city and Pakistan recorded its fourth win against two defeats. The goal counts in favor of Pakistan are 20-11

The 118th meeting between the two arch-rives marks the beginning of the second leg of the eight-match 'Dosti Series'. Pakistan won the first leg at home 2-1 and increased the lead to 3-1 in the series.

Former Pakistani hockey giants Islahuddin Siddiqui, Akhtar Rasool Chaudhury, Jahangir Ahmed Butt and Hassan Sardar felicitated during the fifth match of 9th India-Pakistan Series

Living up to the spirit of the Dosti Series, the two national hockey federations had decided to honor four former players of both countries, and Monday's felicitation is a reciprocal gesture to the Pakistan Hockey Federation that had honored Indian greats Ajit Pal Singh, Bilimoria Putaswamy Govinda, Aslam Sher Khan and Surinder Singh Sodhi.

Pakistan off to a perfect start when Mudassar Ali Khan created the opportunity for Kashif Jawwad and the opportunist striker with a first timer gave no chance to keeper Adrian D’Souza from hand-shake distance. It was Kashif ‘s first goal of the series as he failed to open his account during Pakistan leg’s four matches. It was 91st goal in 174th international for Karachi-born player, who recently joined Sohail Abbas at Sui Southern Gas Company in Pakistan’s domestic hockey.

Sohail Abbas, with his 266th goal, consolidated Pakistan’s position. His forceful 30th minute drag flick on third PC went high into right corner, leaving onrushing Adrian no chance. Pakistan led 2-0 at interval.

Indian managed four PCs in the match, three of them in the second session, but new keeper Nasir Ahmed, playing only his second international, and rusher Rehan Butt foiled their attempts.

India were given a hope by jersey number 32 striker Sandeep Michael, one of the five proud persons who have the honor of lifting Junior Asia Cup as skipper, in the 50th minute when he deflected long, powerful free-hit of captain Dilip Tirkey past Nasir.

Pakistan registered five PCs in the match and the last one yielded the penalty-stroke when Dilip Tirkey took Sohail’s immense-power drag flick on his face. Sohail, playing his 215th international, said sorry to Dilip when he was on the way out on stretcher, and moved forward to equal Litjen’s World Record.

With the arrival of the India and Pakistan teams from Lahore on Saturday, the 9th Hockey Series 2004 traversed the border for the second leg of four matches at Delhi, Chandigarh (6 Oct), Amritsar (8 oct) and Hyderabad Deccan (10 Oct). It currently stands 3-1 in favour of Pakistan.

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Congrats to Sohail Abbas

:jhanda:

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very welldone mate :k: and still going strong is sohail so i can’t see his eventual record being broken by anyone.

a pakistani in the record books : :jhanda: nice 1

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**Sohail Abbas has broken the record and scored his 268th goal today :jhanda: **

We are proud of him :bhangra:

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Looking forward to hs 300th goal.

Go Sohail.

:jhanda:

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:hula:

But…

Where’s the screenshot of this great moment in Pakistan Hockey? :frowning: Aren’t you guys in Pakistan watching this tournament?

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does anybody know how many of his 268 goals were scored through penalty corners, penalty stroke and how many were field goals... I am sure most of his goals are through PC but is the percentage mor than 90% or less.. I wonder...

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Sohail Abbas is honoured to enter hockey Hall of Fame](Daily Jang: Urdu News - Latest Breaking News update Pakistan - jang.com.pk)

Pakistan’s penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas on Friday said he was honoured to enter field hockey’s Hall of Fame after he set a new world record for most goals.

The unassuming 27-year-old scored his 268th goal in Pakistan’s 2-1 win against India at Amritsar, beating legendry Dutch striker Paul Litjens’s longstanding landmark of 267 goals in 177 matches.

“It’s a big honour to reach the mark,” said Abbas, who took 217 matches to set the new record. “It’s a great feeling to equal Litjens’s world record but I am still learning. When comparison with Litjens comes, I consider myself a kid,” Abbas said.

Abbas is the latest addition to the line-up of international field hockey stars produced by Asia, a region that was once a powerhouse in the sport with India and Pakistan sharing 11 Olympic and five world titles.

The nephew of 1970s international Safdar Abbas, the wily player’s career stalled for the first two years as internal politics in Pakistan’s hockey federation meant he was not selected despite excelling at the domestic level.

“We made the roof of our house as the playing field and would play for hours non-stop, much to the chagrin of the residents on lower floors,” Abbas’s uncle said.

He was not selected for two years, not even at the junior level, despite scoring goals at will, but he has always been a fighter, never loses heart," the uncle recalled.

Abbas finally made his entry at the international level against India in the 1998 bilateral series and instantly made his presence felt.

He anchored Pakistan’s win against India in the two annual series in 1998 and 1999. A year later, he helped Pakistan get through to the Sydney Olympics with 12 goals in the qualifying event in Japan.

Abbas was second top scorer with eight goals in the 2000 Olympics. However former Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh criticised Abbas for selfishness, saying: "It’s a pride for Pakistan that Abbas has achieved a landmark but he plays for individual records.

“He is the Sachin Tendulkar (star Indian cricket player) for international hockey, never scores when his team needs him,” added Sheikh, who played against Litjens.

Another Olympic gold medal winner, Shahid Ali Khan, who faced both Litjens and Abbas, said comparisons were hazardous.

“Litjens was a striker and in his days it was tough to score when the game was played on grass and the goalkeeper would sprawl on the field with pushes not allowed,” said Khan. “But Abbas with his record deserves a place in the history.”

In his second year at international level, Abbas earned a reputation as a goal scoring machine when he broke two world records - scoring the most goals in a calendar year (60 in 1999, beating Litjens’s 58 in 1978) and the fastest century of goals (two years, six months and 18 days).

My goals are not mine, they are of the team," he said. “At times I don’t know how I have scored. Maybe it’s because the prayers of the entire nation are behind me.” Abbas has bagged 21 hat-tricks, a record unmatched in international hockey.

Hockey statistician Akbar Ali Wahidi lamented records were not readily available as in cricket.

"We don’t even know the names of players who have scored more than 200 goals, to my knowledge besides Litjens and Abbas, Holland’s Floris-Jan Bovelander and Now Abbas’s dream is to guide Pakistan to the Olympic title, but he will have to wait for the Beijing Olympics in China in 2008 - and by that time he may have crossed the 300 mark.

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some pictures from the game from gettyimages

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These pictures are taken from gettyimages

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Pakistan Zindabad :jhanda:

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** Musharraf honours penalty corner expert Sohail for his feat **](http://www.planetfieldhockey.com/PFH/Item-View-14696)

RAWALPINDI: President General Pervez Musharraf honoured ace penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas on Saturday for his accomplishment as all-time highest goal scorer in international field hockey.

The President presented Sohail Abbas a Rs 2 million cheque in recognition of his outstanding feat at a meeting and expressed the hope that his performance would inspire higher standards of the sport in the country.

“The entire nation is proud of your singular achievement - I am confident that you will continue to maintain your top form and win more laurels for Pakistan,” he said.

The President observed that commitment to higher standards and consistency of form are the hallmarks of great players. He also lauded the performance of the hockey team in the recent eight- match series against India which Pakistan won 4-2.

Minister of State for Sports Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani, President Hockey Federation Gen (retd) Muhammad Aziz Khan, President Pakistan Olympic Association, Lt Gen Arif Hassan and senior sports officials were also present.

Sohail became the highest goal scorer in the annals of international hockey last week, when he overtook former Dutch player Paul Litjen’s record tally of 267 goals in a match against arch rivals India.

Wedding bells for Sohail on Dec 24

Olympian Hockey star Sohail Abbas will marry his cousin in Lahore on December 24, it was learnt here Thursday.

Sohail’s wife-to-be, is a student of Army Medical College whose father is serving in Pakistan Army. Valima reception will be held in Karachi on January 2, Sohail confirmed

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Congrats Sohail

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Special report from S. Thyagarajan, reproduced with kind permission of The Hindu.

Even in a country like Pakistan, where hockey heroes are a legion, Sohail Abbas is unique. The world record that the 27-year-old etched on Friday at Amritsar, to push the Dutch legend, Paul Litjens, out of the pedestal illustrates a golden phase of an eventful career.
'My goals are not mine; they are of the team.'' Sohail remarked before the Olympics in Athens. This statement underscores the character of the man whose firm belief is that the team's outcome mattered more than personal glory. Humility is what makes Sohail different from so many who consciously project their charm and charisma.

What makes Sohail remarkable is that he surprisingly remained the cynosure in a country where the romance of hockey was always represented only by the front-liners. From Khalid Muhammad to Islahuddin, Samiullah and Sheik Shahnaz, to the glorious era of Hassan Sardar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Tahir Zaman, it has always been the forwards in the forefront.
True, there have been outstanding defenders, and penalty corner strikers, like Tanvir Dhar, Manzur-ul-Hassan and Khalid Bashir. But none remained in the limelight as much as Sohail to the point of forcing the nation to look up to him more for results than at the competence of forwards.

It is perhaps in the fitness of things that Sohail should achieve his crowning moment here. His debut was against India in 1998 at Peshawar after bursting on the domestic scene in 1996. 'I am learning with each match,'' said the Karachi born, after six years of competitive hockey, the outstanding of which was 2000 when he slammed in as many as 60 goals.

The drag flick
Sohail is fit, adept, stylish, powerful, professional, and above all, ingenuous. It is difficult to pinpoint who (among several claimants) perfected the art of the drag flick, so lethal a weapon that it can devastate any goalkeeper. Contemporary hockey has witnessed a handful, which includes Bram Lomans and Taeke Takema of Holland, Florian Kunz and Bjorn Michel of Germany, Jorge Lombi of Argentina, Yew Woon Koon of South Korea as eminent drag flickers.
Some observers tend to give the benefit of doubt to the wily Argentine as the author of the drag flick that was alien to strikers of the previous era, including Floris Bovelander, who succeeded the Dutch superstars, Paul Litjens and Thies Kruize, both of whom played a lot on natural grass, like Prithipal Singh, India's stalwart of the sixties.

But the fact that Sohail had touched a new milestone in this facet gives him that extra halo. The wristy elegance fashioning the speed of the ball flying at varying trajectories from different angles and the degree of consistency make Sohail the most respected, admired and feared striker. The career of this mild mannered, soft-spoken Pakistani should not only be measured in terms of statistics at the Olympics (2), World Cups (2) and Asian Games (2) played and the number of goals scored. It represents the era of a player who reached the pinnacle through sheer hard work, dedication and determination to fight odds; like the groin injury three years ago and the humiliation of paying a fine of a 100,000 Pakistani rupees for figuring in German hockey league without a clearance from the federation. The sports fraternity today unhesitatingly acknowledges Sohail as a symbol projecting the élan and effervescence of contemporary hockey. And this shy star deserves every word of approbation that his achievement attracts from different corners of the globe.

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Re: Sohail Abbas Equals World Record for Most Goals in Field Hockey

he is the man!! wat a player

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What a stud. Without him Pak would be clueless.

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well done