WHEN I saw my name as part of the recently reshuffled Selection Committee announced by Pakistan Hockey Federation, I had a feeling of deja vu, ‘been there, done that’ kind of thing. Ever since I hanged up my hockey boots, I have been in touch with the affairs of the national game in one capacity or the other. Even when not officially assigned a job, my involvement with the game has never lacked enthusiasm. Like all those who were part of Pakistan Hockey’s glorious era, I have a desire to contribute to the game so that we, the Pakistanis, may once again see our flag flying high on hockey fields around the globe.
As part of my latest assignment, I personally went to the ground to watch for myself the two semi-finals and the final of the recently concluded 49th National Championship, which is the premier national tournament and is supposed to showcase domestic talent. The three matches that I watched featured PIA and the three banks — Allied, National and Habib. PIA lifted the trophy, while the ABL turned out to be the runners-up. Of the two losing semi-finalists, the NBP got the bronze medal, while the HBL went home with the wooden spoon.
While the level of competition may at best be called satisfactory, what worried me the most was the continuing absence of any fresh talent. In those three matches, I saw around fifty players in a competitive environment. And, mind you, these were supposedly the top 50 players on the domestic circuit. But, collectively, they failed to throw up one fresh face from among themselves that could have caught the selectors’ eye for immediate national representation.
PIA lifted the trophy on the basis of its old stalwarts. The same was the case with the other teams, which had in their respective folds players who were already part of the pakistan setup, or were spent forces already past their best on the international scene.
Regardless of this all, the selectors had to pick probables for the national camp and that was done to the best of our abilities. As you know, the Selection Committee is headed by Col (retd) S.K. Tressler, and has, apart from myself, Brig. Musarratullah Khan, Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Abdul Rashid Jr. Besides, the newly appointed manager Zafar Ahmed Zafri, and coach Tahir Zaman are co-opted members of the body who together decide on the final entourage the list of which is then forwarded to the PHF chief, General Mohammad Aziz for formal and final approval.
While the policies put in place by the PHF are generally good, and would hopefully deliver in the long term, things, as they stand today, are worrisome, to say the least, as there are daunting tasks ahead of the national outfit. The first will be the Commonwealth Games in July prior to which the team will also have a brief tour of Spain. Next in line will be the Champions Trophy that will be held in Germany in August. Later in the year, it will be time for the Asian Games that will be held in South Korea. The schedule alone demands peak physical fitness, and that is exactly what we will be stressing on.
WHEN I saw my name as part of the recently reshuffled Selection Committee announced by Pakistan Hockey Federation, I had a feeling of deja vu, ‘been there, done that’ kind of thing. Ever since I hanged up my hockey boots, I have been in touch with the affairs of the national game in one capacity or the other. Even when not officially assigned a job, my involvement with the game has never lacked enthusiasm. Like all those who were part of Pakistan Hockey’s glorious era, I have a desire to contribute to the game so that we, the Pakistanis, may once again see our flag flying high on hockey fields around the globe.
