The 23-year-old Bharat Chikara may concede many inches to the gangling Rehan Butt but the dapper Indian towered over Pakistan’s star in the teams’ inaugural match in the Hero Honda FIH World Cup on a heady Sunday night when you could have reached out and felt the electricity that charged the Maj. Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Indian players set off on a victory lap after beating Pakistan 4-1 in their opening match at the FIH World Cup
The man of the match Sandeep Singh scored once in each half while Shivendra Singh and Prabhjot Singh pumped in one each as India piled immense pressure on the Pakistan defence. Yet, it was really the Indian midfield that won the day and helped India win 4-1. And none shone brighter than Bharat Chikara who gave Rehan Butt little elbow room to showcase his magical skills.
In a sport in which the focus is usually on the strikers and, less frequently, the goalkeepers, it needs a command performance from a midfielder to steal the thunder from under everyone else’s nose. And Bharat Chhikara did just that – and to make things so much better, the Haryana player with just over 50 caps did it without much ado.
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