LAST Saturday was, indeed, a bad day for Pakistan sports in general. The national cricket team surrendered meekly in Sharjah, and their counterparts in hockey lost it against Malaysia. Both the units set up records that they would not like people remember. It cricket, they set up two record low scores in the same match and were shot out inside two days for the first time in their history. In hockey, Pakistan failed to clinch even a bronze medal at the Asian Games, the first time it has ever happened since the Games made their debut.
So, then, we are now fourth in Asia, what to talk of our position in the overall global scenario. The team had played the initial round quite well, which, in fact, had given rise to hopes that the team may just pull it off in the knockout stages. But it was not to be. It was Indian which exerted more pressure on Pakistan, while the latter had to constantly struggle to find an equalizer, which made any thought of going into the lead vanish in thin air.
And it was this defeat that demoralized the Pakistanis so much that they failed against Malaysia, a side they had beaten a few days earlier by a perfectly comfortable margin. Apparently, it was beyond the capacity of the team management to lift the morale of the team after the defeat against India, and make the boys realize the importance of the bronze-medal match.
It is difficult to believe that the team performed badly because the boys could not handle the pressure-cooker situation in the match against India, especially in view of the last two matches between the two teams at the recent Champions Trophy. Pakistan, mind you, has in its line-up more experienced players than most other teams in the world. The contrast is true even more with the Indian outfit that has a string of players who have just graduated to the senior level. The negative effects of a high-pressure match, as such, should have been felt by the Indians, not by the Pakistanis.
Similarly, with so many seasoned players who have been through this path many a time in their careers, Pakistan should have been able to come to terms with this loss, and get on with the game against Malaysia. This, they were not able to do. Instead, they took the field with dropped shoulders, played like novices, and paid the penalty. All their experience came to nothing.
If newspaper reports are anything to go by, the team management has been quoted as saying that the national team now needs younger players to replace the ageing lot. This is something I had said almost a coupe of years ago in a column in this very space, titled: “Wanted: fresh legs”. And just for the records, the team that went to the Asian Games was selected without a dispute, and, more importantly in this context, to the entire satisfaction of the team management.
Another issue that the PHF would do well to handle at this stage is the dwindling confidence of Sohail Abbas, the team’s penalty corner specialist. He came out as the top scorer in the tournament, but the team ended at the record-low fourth position. Scoring goals against minor teams is nothing big. You have to score when the team is depending on you to bring it back, and it is precisely at such moments when he struggles to deliver the goods. I fail to remember a key match that the team has won because of Sohail. In fact, Khalid Bashir used to deliver pretty much at the same level. The PHF needs to take up the matter, and give it a serious thought.
I started off this column by citing a few ignominious ‘firsts’ that out cricket and hockey teams registered last week. I end it with another equally ignominious ‘first’. This was the first time that none of the Asian Games hockey matches was broadcast live either by Pakistan Television or Radio Pakistan. What a pity!
LAST Saturday was, indeed, a bad day for Pakistan sports in general. The national cricket team surrendered meekly in Sharjah, and their counterparts in hockey lost it against Malaysia. Both the units set up records that they would not like people remember. It cricket, they set up two record low scores in the same match and were shot out inside two days for the first time in their history. In hockey, Pakistan failed to clinch even a bronze medal at the Asian Games, the first time it has ever happened since the Games made their debut.
