NEW DELHI A 19,000 full house roared India's men's hockey team to a crushing 7-4 victory over rivals Pakistan on Sunday, giving the Commonwealth Games the sort of pageantry and passion the event had been lacking.
While many athletes have competed in front of near-empty stands during these Games, there was no question of anything but a sell-out at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, where India secured a place in the semi-finals amid a party atmosphere, complete with Bollywood music.
“The crowd was excellent,” Indian striker Shivendra Singh said. “The pressure was on them (Pakistan) right from the start. They had quite a few new players and the inexperience put them under pressure.”
Cricket may be more popular in India but hockey is the country's national game and a clash with old adversaries Pakistan can stir the emotions.
Hockey's popularity in India stems from a glorious past. The men's team won six successive Olympic golds from 1928-56 but the team has been in steady decline since then.
However, beating the old adversaries once again made headlines as the news bulletins led on the group stage win ahead of the five golds that India won on Sunday.
Every attacking move from India resulted in passionate fans going berserk and even some local journalists joined in with the party atmosphere, dancing a few jigs to popular Bollywood numbers.
India will next face England on Tuesday for a place in the final.
“We will celebrate today and think about England from tomorrow,” India coach Jose Brasa said.
Pakistan were left to lick their wounds after being knocked out.
“Delhi doesn't seem to be lucky for us. We lost here to India during the World Cup too,” Pakistan's Rehan Butt said.
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