Mumbai: The trend that started in the cricket field ended on the astro turf as members of the Indian hockey team shook hands with Pakistani players at the end of their FIH Pro League matches, setting aside the politics and signalling a thaw in the relationships.
The Indian hockey team players shook hands with the Pakistani players at the end of both their encounters in the FIH Pro League in London, which came as a pleasant surprise to many, considering that the issue had generated a lot of heat a few months back.
Hockey players from both sides shook hands before and after the two matches, as is traditionally done in hockey. It was apparent that the Indian players did not refuse to shake hands when the Pakistani players approached them on Friday.
Suryakumar Yadav’s cricket team implemented this ‘no handshake policy’ when it refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players during the Asia Cup T20 tournament in 2025 to honour the victims of the Pahhelgam terror attack and to stand in solidarity with the Indian armed forces. The Indian women’s team and the India U-19 teams followed suit. Teams and players in other sports followed that policy and did not make any attempt to shake hands with the Pakistani players before, during, and after their matches.
The decision by Suryakumar Yadav’s team made news all over the world, with global media covering India-Pakistan cricket matches just to write about it.
Shaking hands or greeting the opponent is one of the most basic things done in sports and is mostly considered a courtesy and part of the spirit of sportsmanship.
The Indian men’s hockey team has broken the recent trend in India-Pakistan matches, leaving only the cricket teams implementing this policy.
The social media across the border had reacted quite positively to the Indian hockey players shaking hands with Pakistani players in the first clash between the two teams a couple of days back. With the teams shaking hands after their second match, too, it is going to get more attention and reaction from people from both countries.
(IANS)
