The then powerhouse of the game, Pakistan’s failure to qualify for men’s hockey World The cup has caused an uproar in the country and former players found it “difficult to digest” and called for chiefs to roll over to the national federation.
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Pakistan hockey suffered a setback on Thursday when they suffered a 2-3 loss to Japan in their final Pole A match of the Asia Cup.
with India With a 16-0 win against hosts Indonesia, Pakistan were knocked out of the tournament and also failed to qualify for the FIH World Cup to be held in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela next year.
Pakistan, once the undisputed champions of world hockey, has moved from crisis to crisis and from one despair to another and Thursday’s setback prompted the sacking of long-serving president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Brigadier (Retd.). Called anew. ) Khalid Sajjad Khokar and coach Khwaja Junaid
Junaid, a former Olympian, has been regularly associated with the national senior and junior teams since his retirement.
“It is very hard to digest that now we have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time. Where is our hockey going now?” Questioned former captain and Olympian Samiullah.
Another former captain and Olympian, Islauddin said that it is heartbreaking that Pakistan has not been able to qualify for the last two Olympics and now for the second consecutive World Cup.
He said, ‘There was a time when such big events were incomplete without Pakistan.
Islauddin’s concern is understandable given that Pakistan, a proud hockey nation with three Olympic gold medals, four World Cup titles and multiple Asian-level victories, has now gone without a major title since 2010. When he won the Asian Games gold.
Pakistan had high hopes of qualifying for the World Cup after beating Indonesia 13–0 in the Asia Cup, but arch-rivals, India, who needed 15 goals to qualify for the Super 4 stage, raised their hopes. crushed.
Ahead of the ongoing Asia Cup, the PHF appointed Dutchman Seyfried Ekman as head coach, in addition to sending the team on a training tour of Europe.
Former renowned centre-forward Hasan Sardar said other Asian countries have moved ahead while Pakistan has been left behind due to poor domestic infrastructure.
“No one could have imagined that Japan could beat us,” he said.
The present situation does not bode at all for the future of the game in the country as the former veterans wonder what lies ahead for Pakistan hockey.
“We really need people who have no selfish interests to run hockey. We need coaches who are ready to work selflessly and not for daily allowances and foreign rides,” Samiullah said.
Olympian Rashid-ul-Hasan pointed out that the two common factors for Pakistan hockey’s dismal performance in recent years are the PHF president and Khawaja Junaid.
Despite being together for so many years, what have these two achieved so far? Khokar has been the president for seven years now,” he said.
“We have always measured our hockey prowess with India and it is sad to see the Indian team now surpassing us in all departments. I think radical steps are needed from the government to stop this decline,” said Pakistan’s most successful captain and coach, Islauddin.
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