2010 IN REVIEW: A year to remember for Pakistan hockey

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2010 IN REVIEW: A year to remember for Pakistan hockey —By Muhammad Ali

For Pakistan hockey, 2010 was an eventful year in more ways than one. There were failures and there was one big success that overshadowed those disappointments. New initiatives were undertaken and still more promised. The year 2010 will be remembered in Pakistan hockey for not finishing at bottom of the 12-team World Cup in India or at sixth position in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, but for winning the 16th Asian Games gold medal in Guangzhou after 20 years.

After humiliating defeats at two major international events, it was predicted by even the most partisan of their supporters that Pakistan hockey was indeed headed nowhere other than the dumps. But the Greenshirts turned all predictions topsy-turvy with their brilliant triumph. The victory not only helped them qualify for the London Olympics 2012 but they also received wild card entry for the elite Champions Trophy, which was started by Pakistan in 1978.

The gold medal in the Guangzhou provided the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) much-needed breathing space that they were so desperately looking for. It also revived popular support for the national sport that had been corroded by repeated reversals. In addition, the decision by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to include Pakistan in the eight-nation line-up for the next Champions Trophy in India gave Pakistan a platform they desperately needed to assess their strength against top teams of the world and plan a strategy to remain in that elite group. And realistically speaking, one should harbour positive hopes of the national team doing better and reviving their former glory in 2011.

With former Olympians Qasim Zia and Mohammad Asif Bajwa at helm of affairs in the PHF, there were ideas and innovations galore. Junior Super League was started with all regions and departments participating in it. The PHF’s emphasis on junior tournaments and players was not all about money or razzmatazz but it was about taking the game to a more professional line in terms of skills and competitiveness. Establishment of 18 hockey academies in the country and grooming more players at junior level were not the only major PHF administrative decisions, though they were the most public ones. These were attributes that were previously lacking in our domestic structure.

And above all, hiring of a foreign coach, Netherlands’ Michel Van Den Heuvel, was a positive step. This appointment did help Pakistan regain their number one position in Asia. The way Heuvel used and handled the Pakistan players during their semifinal against South Korea and final against Malaysia in the Asiad 2010 showed how wise the PHF management was in hiring services of the Dutch coach. Heuvel did cope with the physical fitness and technique mythology of the national squad.

A terrible beginning

The year started terribly for Pakistan hockey when the Greenshirts finished at the bottom of the World Cup in New Delhi in March. It was one of the most embarrassing performances. Their defeats at the hands of lowly South Africa (3-4) and Canada by a golden goal 2-3 to register their first 12th position in the history of the tournament were indigestible. Pakistan’s worst showing previously in the World Cup was the 11th place finish in the 1986 edition in London. They were sixth in Germany in the World Cup 2006. Pakistan returned home with five defeats and just one win, against Spain, in the six matches they played in the World Cup. In an unprecedented move, 18 players of the Pakistan hockey team, taking moral responsibility for the shoddy show, resigned from international hockey. Captain Zeeshan Ashraf said that all 18 players had accepted the defeat and decided to retire from international hockey.

The players who announced retirement were Nasir Ahmad and Salman Akbar (goalkeepers), Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Abbas and Muhammad Rashid (full-backs), Muhammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmad, Muhammad Imran, Fareed Ahmad and Sajjad Anwar (halves), Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Muhammad Zubair, Akhtar Ali, Omar Bhutta, Abbas Haider and Muhammad Rizwan (forwards). Pakistan coach Shahid Ali Khan also condemned the team’s deplorable performance and said he was ready to face any consequence for the debacle. Upset over Pakistan’s worst ever performance, PHF president Qasim sacked the national selection committee and team management. Qasim said the result was against all expectations.

National players take back resignations

Five days after the retirement, the players took back their resignations after a meeting with federal minister for sports Ijaz Jakhrani. Jakhrani asked the members of the national hockey team to withdraw their resignations, saying some of them were still good enough to serve Pakistan hockey. The minister felt the decision to resign en masse was an emotional decision and many of the players could still serve Pakistan hockey.

Senate Sports Committee reposes confidence in PHF

While many former Olympians turned their blazing guns against the PHF management, particularly secretary general Asif Bajwa, after the World Cup debacle but the Senate Standing Committee on Sports reposed confidence in the PHF and recommended that the government should provide financial assistance to the national federation for tackling those problems that forced the national squad to end at the bottom of the World Cup in New Delhi.

Hanif is new chief selector

In the last week of March, the PHF named former Olympian Hanif Khan as the new chief selector after the previous selection committee was dissolved following the national team’s disastrous performance in the World Cup in India. Hanif replaced former Olympian Hasan Sardar. Muhammad Usman, Arshad Chaudhry and Musadaq Hussain became the members of the new national selection committee.

Senior players get central contracts

In May, the PHF gave central contracts to 25 players including seven seniors who were not part of the national team that participated in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. Penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas, Wasim Ahmad, Shakeel Abbasi, Zeeshan Ashraf and Rehan Butt were given contracts in category A, while Akhtar Ali and Nasir Ahmed were placed in category C. Category A players were given a monthly salary of Rs50,000, category B players Rs40,000 and category C players Rs30,000.

Centrally contracted players:

Category A: Zeeshan Ashraf, Rehan Butt, Sohail Abbas, Shakeel Abbasi, Wasim Ahmad, Mohammad Imran and Waqas Sharif.

Category B: Mohammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmad, Mohammad Zubair, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rashid, Mohammad Rizwan and Shafqat Rasool.

Category C: Nasir Ahmad, Akhtar Ali, Kashif Ali, Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Amir Shahzad, Zeeshan Ali, Mohammad Umar Bhutta, Abdul Qayyum Dogar, Kashif Ali and Mohammad Tauseeq.

Pakistan claim fifth position in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

In May, Pakistan claimed fifth spot in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, played in Ipoh, after beating China on penalties 6-5. India and South Korea were named joint champions after the final was abandoned because of heavy rain in northern Malaysia. It was the first time in the history of the tournament that a final had to be called off, with both teams also going down as the first joint champions of the tournament. For defending champions India it was their fifth title, matching Australia, while for South Korea it was their second title after winning the crown before in 1996.

Pakistan hockey gets Dutch coach

In June, Pakistan hockey finally received an approval from the federal sports ministry to hire a foreign coach. The new coach was Netherlands’ Heuvel. Heuvel became Pakistan’s third foreign coach. It was under Dutch coach Hans Jorritsma that Pakistan won the 1994 World Cup in Sydney while another Dutchman Roelant Oltmans coached Pakistan in 2004 with the Greenshirts gaining better ranking at the international level during his tenure. Heuvel guided Holland to a bronze medal in the World Cup in New Delhi, where Pakistan finished poor 12th. The contract between the PHF and Heuvel is until London Olympics 2012

Financial grant for six former players

In August, on the recommendation of the PHF, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who is also patron of the PHF, announced a grant of Rs1.2 million for six former hockey players. PHF president Qasim requested the Prime Minister that six former players and their families were in financial crisis and needed financial assistance from the PHF. The patron, in a kind gesture, accepted the request and announced to give Rs200,000 each to six former players: Afzal Mana, Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Irshad, Mehmood Hussain, Razia Begum (widow of Noor Alam) and widow of international Mazhar.

Pakistan clinch Youth Olympics silver medal

In August, Pakistan lost their hockey final of the First Youth Olympics to Australia 1-2 to clinch silver medal in Singapore. The Greenshirts performance was the result of the PHF’s hectic efforts towards youth hockey. All six teams in Youth Olympic Games qualified for the event after winning their continental rounds. Pakistan also qualified after beating South Korea, India and Malaysia in the Youth Asia Cup.

Khawaja Junaid becomes senior team manager

In September, former Olympian Khawaja Muhammad Junaid was named as manager of the Pakistan senior hockey team for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in place of Manzoor Junior who was not released by his department Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Pakistan score sixth position at Commonwealth Games

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Pakistan ended at sixth position after losing to South Africa in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October. Though Pakistan, who won silver at Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006, were off to a flying start but could not sustain the same performance in the remaining matches. The Greenshirts performance led former Olympians to the same old hue and cry about ‘downfall of hockey’ and stark criticism of the PHF. Pakistan’s performance never got an appreciation from the former Olympians who ignored the fact the Pakistan conceded a respectable 1-0 loss against champions Australia, defeated Malaysia and Scotland and had a better goal-scoring ratio compared to hosts India. When Australia thrashed India 8-0 in the final there was no public outrage in India. The Indian public accepted the result. But this was not the case in Pakistan where majority follow its own ‘agenda’. PHF secretary Asif Bajwa put up a brave face afterwards saying that regardless of that result Pakistan would sparkle at Guangzhou Asian Games. And he was to be proven right in a month’s time.

Gold in China after 20 years

Pakistan earned hockey gold medal of the 2010 Asian Games when they defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the final in Guangzhou in November. Fired-up Pakistan annexed the men’s title after 20 years. Specialist drag-flicker Sohail Abbas gave Pakistan the lead in the 28th minute when he converted a penalty corner. Abbas slammed home the ball in the top right corner in Pakistan’s second attack of the first half. Striker Rehan Butt then consolidated the lead three minutes into the second half when he hit a close-range goal from open play (in the 38th minute). It was Pakistan’s eighth Asiad hockey gold, ending a drought that stretched back to Beijing in 1990, and handed them their first major title since winning the World Cup in Sydney in 1994.

PHF chief wins FIH seat with big margin

PHF president Qasim become the member of the FIH executive board after securing 36 votes in the FIH Congress meeting held at Montreux, Switzerland in November. Qasim got 36 votes out of total 65. This was the first time in the history of Pakistan hockey that Pakistan won an FIH seat with highest margin.

Portents for 2011

With all this part of the past now, what about 2011? Can this Pakistan side beat their blues and surprise everyone by storming to gold and glory again? They certainly have the potential. The first and foremost key decision for the PHF is to decide about the fate of certain senior payers. Let there be no confusion on this issue as has been created by different officials and players associated with the PHF with the chief selector saying something and others towing a different line. Let this be placed on record that it was the judicious use of the senior players by the Dutch coach during the Asian Games, which enabled them to play the role that they ultimately did. His personal ambition of playing in the next World Cup notwithstanding, the harsh reality is that sharp shooter Sohail Abbas has slowed down considerably and is progressively becoming a liability in defense which can be fatal against top teams. He is no more the penalty corner threat that he used to be and most of the goalkeepers and opponent coaches have now worked out his technique and strategy. Same is the case with at least three other key players two in defense and two in the forward line. The final decision of course should be left to the Dutch coach instead of different individuals voicing their opinions.

The next key issue is the training of at least two new penalty corner specialists as such specialists invariably play a vital role in their team’s success in all forms of hockey and there are teams which devise their winning strategy on purely this strength alone. It is unfortunate but a bitter reality that our coaches have not been able to train a single decent penalty corner specialist during the last four years. We also need two speedy and confident center-halves. We do have two speedy artistic forwards but we also need at least two more by the time our team reach the London Olympics deadline.

The next Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia should be used as an experimental platform to finalise the ultimate composition of the team for the Champions Trophy. We have the talent to bounce back into elite company provided the pathway is shrewdly chosen and followed. All the PHF need to do is inculcate the commitment and the self-belief that separates the champions from also-rans. And to do that they would have to remind the players all the while of what and how they grasped the success in China when everyone had virtually written them off. That little taste of glory should spur them on to prove everyone wrong, again. If the Greenshirts could do so, they might just be able to prove the doomsayers wrong yet again. That is something that many a Pakistan side have done before, and one would not be surprised if they did it again. Regaining top position comes with optimism, determination, patience and never-die spirit. And with the present PHF management, one should always hope for the best.

The writer is Sports Editor at Daily Times. He can be reached at mali319@hotmail.com

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[pakeeza1990]

yes i am with your statement 100 percent it will be the remember for the pakistan hockey .