PAKISTAN hockey was virtually buried when in presence of a number of former Olympians and internationals a group of people was allowed to demonstrate motorbike show on the imported blue and pink astro turf at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Stadium (formerly Hockey Club of Pakistan) on the Independence Day.

The manner in which the ugly show occurred after final of the inaugural Premier Pakistan Cup nine-a-side hockey tournament was condemned by a number of hockey greats who said: “They were pained by the unsporting attitude of the incumbent Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) hierarchy including its secretary ex-Olympian Shahbaz Ahmed.”

Unfortunately, the timings of the display were the same when the Rio Olympics was in progress where the greenshirts have failed to make it for the first time ever.

Pointing fingers at the PHF, the former stalwarts said: “The motorbikes demo on the newly laid synthetic pitch will go into the annals of the game and it is most disturbing that no former Olympian opposed it.”

“Whose idea it was and why no sane person from the hockey fraternity intervened and tried to stop it,” the former Olympians questioned.

“It’s ridiculous. The PHF should put an embargo on extracurricular activities at the stadium and it would be wise to provide an access to upcoming players,” former hockey celebrity Samiullah told Dawn.

He condemned the staging of motorcycle show and dog show at the stadium on the Independence Day.

He added that the turf has been laid after many years thanks to the Sindh government and now it’s up to the PHF to raise the pool of promising players.

“It’s time that the PHF should start thinking seriously for the 2018 Asian Games right now because it will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Ethically it was wrong,” but the positive aspect is that the floodlit event pulled a crowd of some 25,000 people in the stadium after a long time,” the Los Angeles Olympic gold medallist Ayaz Mahmood told Dawn.

Another interesting thing that was noticed is that animals that have come for the dog show did the shit where saplings were planted after some former Olympians few days earlier.

Experts say that the motorbike and dog show have overshadowed the weeklong hockey activity that was officially held for the first time. According to sources, the PHF has earned approximately Rs20 million from sponsorship besides the Rs3.5 million prize money announced by the Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan.

It is pertinent to mention that Wapda stunned national champions PIA 4-2 in the final to win the title. The winners were awarded Rs2 million while the runners-up got Rs1.0 million.

The losing semi-finalists — Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) — mutually agreed to share the third position purse of Rs0.5 million without playing the playoff.

This was not all. The Board Stadium Hyderabad, which is equipped with an astro turf, was rent out for mere Rs5,000 per day by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) to an individual for organising a 12-day programme other then sports.

Information reveals that the synthetic pitch that was laid in Nov 2005, has been destroyed without holding much activity for the uplift of the game in the city.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2016