Year 2014: Few highs, many lows for Pakistan hockey

By Umer Bin Ajmal

It is easy to put all the blame on financial restraints for the poor performances shown on the hockey field — those factors are legit — but skill and ability must also be taken into some account.

Hockey being Pakistan’s national game has been more of an embarrassment for the country lately, the failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in the game's history is an unforgiving blot on the Greenshirts. But should everything be put down to the financial troubles?

Over the years, Pakistan has not only lost its ‘golden touch’, something which experts used to describe Pakistan’s style of playing, but also confidence and self-belief.

Hockey legend and Olympian, Samiullah, said it would “take us years to match the standard of the European teams … While the Europeans have progressed by leaps and bounds”, Pakistan only lagged behind in every aspect of the game.

Samiullah, dubbed the ‘Flying Horse’ for his much-storied pace on the hockey pitch, said England had exposed Pakistan's falling standards after the Greenshirts were hammered 8-2 by England in the recently concluded Champions Trophy.

And that's what needs to be fixed, a national-level plan which reintroduces hockey into the nurseries of the past: the schools.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation needs to work at the grass-root level to better the state of hockey in the country. And 'grass-roots' does not simply mean setting up a field or two or installing brightly-coloured turfs. Why not work on the model of successful academies such as the one in Gojra, the likes of which have produced over hundred international players?

World Cup failure, Azlan Shah pull-out and CWG fiasco

There were more than a few debacles that Pakistan found itself in during the course of the year. One after another, Pakistan remained in the limelight for its share of controversies which hurt the sport.

Pakistan, the most successful hockey team with four titles in the bucket, kicked off the year 2014 with the nightmarish thought of not being part of the game’s most prestigious tournament, the World Cup.

A lively Korean side had hit the Greenshirts hard earlier in 2013’s Asia Cup when they knocked them out in the semis and also from a spot at the World Cup for the first time in their history.

The team, the federation and the management was subjected to severe criticism following the disaster. “We have to live with the reality now and we will have to make a long-term plan for Pakistan hockey,” Pakistan’s then coach Tahir Zaman had said.

Whatever the long-term plan was, it did not emerge in the near future.

Mohammad Imran and South Korea's Yoon Sung-hoon compete for the ball during men's hockey semifinal match at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. — AP

Following the memories of failing to make it to the World Cup, the state of the game sank further. The federation was later seen pulling the team out at the 11th hour from the 23rd Sultan Azlan Shah Cup citing “lack of funds”.

The question arises here, if there were any financial troubles, were they not known beforehand? But as it goes, some questions are better unanswered or a Pandora box is opened engulfing everyone in its surroundings.

Though Pakistan’s overall performance in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has been really commendable. Out of its 23 editions being played up till 2014, the Greenshirts have grabbed the title three times (1998, 2000 and 2003), were runner-ups six times (1983, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2004 and 2011) and secured third position thrice (2001, 2008 and 2009).

The fiasco continued.

The team was denied entry to the Commonwealth Games and astoundingly the entry was not barred due to any ‘lack of funds’, ‘security situation’ or team’s ‘poor performance’ but because of the federation failing to meet up the deadline of sending an expression of interest to the Games organising committee. The deadline for this was extended twice for Pakistan.

Pakistan, however, did send contingent of other sports to the Games, which ended up putting on a dismal show.

Failure to qualify for the World Cup, pull-out from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and being denied entry to the Commonwealth Games was enough to add to the miseries for Pakistan Hockey — all during one year.

Rising from the ashes?

With very little hope to count on and against all odds, Pakistan came out tough and hard in the Champions Trophy played in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar.

Despite losing all the pool matches, which also included the miserable defeat to England, Pakistan put up a resilient performance to outclass Netherlands in the quarterfinal, knocking out the world number two from the competition.

The victory came as a surprise, as the team which suffered misfortune throughout the year displayed that they could conjure up a little bit of magic from time to time still.

It is also worth mentioning that had it not for the support of a couple of businessmen and their financial support, Pakistan would not have been able to participate in the Champions Trophy.

The victory over the Dutch was not mere luck as being termed by many critics, but team Pakistan took their top form to the semifinal, where the Greenshirts beat India in a contest of high nerves. Though the celebrations after the game turned out to be rather controversial, the victory remained neat and clean.

Irfan Mohammad celebrates his team's victory over India during their Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2014 semi final match at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. — AFP

On paper, Pakistan played six matches in the Champions Trophy and victory in just two of them may not speak volume but the circumstances under which the team played under cannot be ignored.

The start of the year may not be the best one would have hoped for, but ending it on such a high note raises expectation and hope. Unpredictability has been Pakistan’s biggest weapon. Whenever it has been pushed to the wall, Pakistan has turned itself around, be it any sport.

Can Pakistan continue to build on this little spark of brilliance they found at the end of the year? Can the federation rise above petty politics and work for the betterment of the sport? Can individuals look beyond and work as a unit? These are the questions which define how the team fares in 2015.

Click here for Dawn.com's special coverage of the year 2014