After years of frustration, Sohail Abbas has finally given Pakistani fans something to cheer about
IFTIKHAR HUSSAIN wasn’t at home. He had stepped out to attend to some domestic chores. Boy did he wish that he hadn’t for by the time that Iftikhar returned, his son, Sohail Abbas had already set the much awaited world record to his name.
Pakistan’s No 1 scorer and probably the most lethal penalty-corner convertors in the world, Sohail Abbas scored the 268th goal of his career during the seventh game of the Pak-India Dosti Series in Amritsar. In the process, he also broke the 22-year-old record of Dutch great Paul Litjens, thus becoming the scorer of most goals by an individual in international hockey. This the Karachi lad did in his 217th match. However, his record surpassing goal was tainted with controversy when his fourth minute strike was initially declared foul. But when the green shirts protested and contested the decision, the two umpires decided to allow Pakistan a 1-0 lead and Sohail his coveted record winning goal. But Sohail Abbas’ six year journey into the hockey hall of fame hasn’t been without the usual share of hiccups. For the lad wasn’t even selected to represent the Pakistani team in the first place.
Born on February 9, 1977, the 27-year-old was born at Holy Family Hospital. His father, Iftikhar Hussain was a first-class cricketer, a ‘colourful’ personality who managed to instil the sporting spirit in his three sons. But it was their uncle, former hockey international, Safdar Abbas who inspired the eldest of the three, Sohail, towards hockey. Of course a part was played by Sohail’s school, Habib Public School that is famous for churning out world famous hockey internationals after another, few among those being Hasan Sardar, Kamran Ashraf, Qamar Ibrahim, Ayaz Mahmood and Ahmed Alam. But it was Safdar and the time the lad spent with him, playing hockey on the roof of the house that set him on the road to fame. At HPS, Sohail honed his basic hockey talents under the tutelage of coach Sabih Abbas and thereon, stepped out to make his indelible mark on the world of hockey. But the PHF wasn’t kind to him, as Safdar recalls: “Initially Abbas wasn’t selected for two years, not even at junior level, despite scoring goals at will, but he has always been a fighter, never loses heart.”
Sohail Abbas finally made his debut at the international level against India in the 1998 bilateral series. He instantly made his presence felt. He anchored Pakistan’s win against India in the two annual series in 1998 and 1999 and a year later, helped Pakistan get through to the Sydney Olympics with 12 goals in the qualifying event in Japan. At Sydney he commandeered Pakistan’s efforts with eight goals. That tally he bettered this year at Athens when he slammed the board 11 times, by far the most scored by an individual ever in the Olympics. Then came this year’s Pak-India series.
With his trademark lethal penalty-corner conversions, Sohail has been keeping the game’s scorers busy all over the world. He has also been following the footsteps of some of the game’s greatest. Not only has he taken help from Toon Sipman, a Dutch penalty-corner trainer, but he has also watched videos of renowned Dutch penalty-corner specialists like Brad Lomans and Floris Jan Bovelander and taken tips from men who set the high goal scoring standards that Sohail has bettered today. Apart from this, Sohail has also greatly adapted the art of drag flick; something that he says needs great balance. Other necessities of this goal scoring ability include remarkable hand-eye coordination, imparting the right measure of power with precision in direction and of course hours of endless practice. He also uses a custom made stick one that is more curved than the regular ones.
His resolute determination to wizz one by the desperate goalkeeper, whenever he feels like, has also earned him the title of Mr Reliable, a psychological advantage for the green shirts that whenever Sohail is firing all cylinders, Pakistan always has an outside chance in every game. And this is the reliability, that he proved to all yet again when he led Pakistan to yet another series victory over the Indians with a 4-2 series win.
However, the celebrity status has yet to catch up with him, as his post-match comments revealed. “I am still learning. When comparisons with Litjens are drawn, I consider myself a kid. My goals are not mine, they are of the team. At times I don’t know how I have scored. Maybe it’s because the prayers of the entire nation are behind me.”
Though he is now the holder of one of hockey’s most glamours records, this isn’t the only record to Abbas’ name. His other achievements include the most goals in a calendar year when in only his second year at international level, he banged home 60 in 1999 beating yet another Litjens’ tally (58 in 1978). This surely earned Abbas the reputation as a goal scoring machine. And then came the fastest century of goals (two years, six months and 18 days). Abbas has also bagged 21 hat tricks, a record unmatched in international hockey while he is also the fastest player to reach 200 goals.
Sohail is one of the seven Pakistanis to have earned 200-plus caps on the international scene. Others on the list are Shahbaz Ahmed, Tahir Zaman, Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Usman, Wasim Ahmed and Muhammad Nadeem. Another one of his achievements include 28 goals in the Champions Trophy. He is just now four goals behind all-time leader, the Australian striker, Mark Hager. This milestone he hopes to achieve later in the year when the Champions Trophy will be held in Lahore.
There are probably more records to his name, but hockey statistics aren’t that readily available as they are in cricket. As hockey statistician Akbar Ali Wahidi laments: “We don’t even know names of players who have scored more than 200 goals, to my knowledge besides Litjens and Abbas, Holland’s Floris-Jan Bovelander and South African Greg Nichol have scored more than 200.”
But as is the case with greatness, there are those who are not kind to Sohail’s achievements. One of them is former Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh who has criticized Abbas for his ‘selfishness’, saying: “It’s a pride for Pakistan that Abbas has achieved a landmark, but he plays for individual record.” Another Olympian, gold medal winner Shahid Ali Khan, who faced both Litjens and Abbas, said comparisons were hazardous. “Litjens was a striker and in his days it was tough to score when the game was played on grass and goalkeeper would sprawl on the field with pushes not allowed,” he said. But then Khan conceded, “Abbas with his record deserves a place in the history.”
Sohail Abbas is on the top of the world. He’s not just in the ranks of Pakistani greats, he is now a leading contender to become the game’s greatest. For the moment though, his aims and targets are ingenuous: keep scoring goals. With such simple, yet clear cut ambitions, he is sure to surpass the 300 tally pretty soon.
After years of frustration, Sohail Abbas has finally given Pakistani fans something to cheer about
