Though our national hockey team won bronze medal last month in Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Malaysia, but over our hockey has been at the lowest ebb for the last two decades. Experts say that it is a good omen that our team, which consisted of young players, did marvels in Malaysia, but they say that a lot needs to be done to regain past glories in hockey at international level.In addition to the host Malaysia, Japan, Korea, South Africa and Canada were participating in the tournament. 

Former Olympian Saeed Khan was the manager of the team, while the coaching panel included Sagfried Ekman (Head Coach), Ayaz Mehmood, Usman Sheikh, Imran Butt, Muhammad Ali Khan, Rana Zubair as coaches. Moreover, Rana Sanaullah as a physical trainer and Abuzar Umrao as video analyst. In early 90’s when the institutions were being privatized, in the name of privatization various banks even institutions like PIA and Customs also terminated their teams.  It should be remembered that especially PIA and Customs are the organizations that once played an important role for the development of hockey. But then the jobs and careers ended, naturally the youngsters drifted away from hockey, later it came to the point that the national team had to miss out on overseas tournaments due to lack of funds.

At the same time, the Pakistan Hockey Federation itself became indebted to the players of its own national team.

Regardless, it is encouraging that the current federation has set an encouraging example by paying the players dues of crores of rupees over the years ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament camp. Certainly the credit goes to the present President of Pakistan Hockey Federation Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Secretary Syed Haider Hussain. However, the fact remains that in the past decade, along with other factors; the PHF policies are also very much responsible for the decline of our hockey.

From unbeatable to total failure to not even make to the last two Olympics shows that the national game is at its lowest ebb right now. Every sensible Pakistani is baffled and saddened to see the country’s current hockey standing in comparison to Pakistan’s past glory when it won a record four hockey World Cups and countless other Asian and International Tournaments.  The nation is really angry at how the green shirts played at international outings in the past and this was heartbreaking and soul-wrenching performance due to which we failed to even make to the FIH World Cup.

There were times when Pakistan reigned supreme on the world hockey front and they were such a force to reckon with that the mega events like WC were considered to be incomplete without Pakistan’s participation. Time has come the government must take note of this dismal state of hockey affairs and ensure a total overhaul of the hockey structure in the government. It may be mentioned here that in May this year, our national hockey team miserably failed in its bid to make to the FIH World Cup which has caused a severe sense of disappointment and despair among the hockey lovers, who are wailing over the pathetic show of the Green Shirts for a long time and now it seems that regaining past glory is hockey is only a distant dream if not impossible.

Every time, our team fails on the international front, there is an outcry from the hockey fans, the  ex-Olympians, commentators and ex-hockey greats  at large, calling for drastic changes in hockey affairs. In fact, the saga of downfall is so deep and it is more than meets the eyes. There are multiple reasons due to which our national game is reeling from one crisis to another, always performing below par.  Every time, the team fails to qualify for big event, there is a backlash, but after sometime, the controversies die down and the hockey affairs remain unchanged. The existing scenario on hockey front is beyond imagination and repair.

In May last, the Pak hockey lovers were dumb found when they saw the Green Shirts exhibiting their poor form, suffered a crushing blow with a  2-3 loss to Japan in its last encounter of  Pool A matches during the ongoing Asia Cup in Jakarta. They miserably failed to even make to the super stage of the event. With this the Green shirts also missed on all their chances to make to the FIH World Cup 2023. On the contrary, our arch-rivals India won in style and inflicted a crushing and comprehensive defeat of 16-0 against the host team i.e., Indonesia.  It ought to be mentioned with concern that the Green Shirts had also failed to qualify for the previous FIH Hockey World Cup.

IN recent times our team’s has been rendering a shameful performance which does not suit the once undisputed champions of hockey which is evident from their past record of having won as many as four Hockey World Cups in a row—in 1971, 1978, 1981 and 1994.   The last time, Pakistan became hockey championship in Belgium in 2018 and since then the saga of downfall has continued on the hockey front. There were times when we won three Olympic Golds as well along with as many as four World Cup titles beside winning at countless championships at Asian and regional level but since 2010, out hockey is at  its lowest ebb as since then we failed to win any big international event after winning the  title of 2010  Asian Games.

Though the PHF officials and the team management attribute the Pakistan’s crashing defeat to  multiple factors mainly their inaction during the Covid-19 period, but it were not Green Shirts alone who were undergoing this inaction, the rest of the teams were also out of action during the corona pandemic.

Former Hockey greats, while wailing over this poor show of the national team, have attributed it to the poor structure of hockey in the country.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 08 2022

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