Poland mesmerised by chant of Aussie fans

Sydney: It is carnival time in this Olympics city as hundred of thousands of sports fans from different parts of the world seemed to have poured their colours on this harbor city, which is already awash with colorful banners, flags, buntings, etc.

Indian hockey followers also made their presence felt in the Sunday morning match against Argentina. Hundreds of Indian spectators could be spotted in this encounter won by India 3-0.

But, in a quintessentially expatriate Indian manner, there was not much of riot of color or noise as Indians backed their team by waving their tricolors. The case was entirely opposite in an earlier group 'B' men's hockey tie.

In Australian hockey match against Poland on Sunday morning at State Hockey Centre, Australia's 'Green and Gold army' painted the jam-packed arena in their national colors.

Polish fans may have got totally outnumbered and outclassed, like their national representatives on the hockey turf, but one could still spot their red and white colors fluttering in few pockets on a perfect Sunday morning.

Kookaburras', Australian men's hockey team, outing against Poland also marked the first occasion for the raucous Australian 'Gold and Green Army' to practice their newly-acquired 'audio-visual' talents.

After putting up a good resistance in the first half, the Polish hockey team crumbled in the second part in face of consistent barrage of chants of "Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie - oye , oye, oye" and some fantastic field work by the hockey players.

Going by Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh's earlier interpretation of such tactics, it was total "mental disintegration" for the Polish team and,perhaps, their die-hard followers present in the stadium.

India Abroad News Service