IN the last week or so there were at least two news reports that made me wonder once again what should be one’s priority when there is a contest between personal issues and national duty. I have always believed that there is nothing more important than national honour and duty. Money, fame, prestige, social and professional engagements, they all pale into insignificance when there is a call for national duty. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that way. There was a whole generation which shared my belief and still does. But times have apparently changed, and have changed for the worse.
First it was Samiullah’s resignation from his place in the team management, citing personal reasons. I am aware of his uneasiness with the current setup of Pakistan Hockey Federation and there was a bit of reflection of that tussle in the media as well, but I have never been an enthusiastic supporter of the art of rumour-mongering. As such, it is only the word from the proverbial horse’s mouth that I take on face value.
Samiullah has himself cited personal engagements as the reason to say goodbye to his association with the game, at least for the time being. If he had any problems with the PHF administration, it would have been better to make a mention of it in his letter of resignation, for it would have helped the nation understand what was going on behind the scene. Since he didn’t say anything of the kind, there is no reason for me not to believe him. But I certainly have problems with people turning down national duty because of personal reasons.
Saeed Khan, who has replaced Samiullah, is a seasoned hand. He has been with the team in the past, and was a member of the panel of national selectors before he was asked to take over as the camp commandant. I am sure he would not be wearing his two caps simultaneously, because that would be against the national interest.
The second newspaper report that I referred to at the beginning related to the lingering soap opera in which Sohail Abbas features in the lead role. He wants to play league hockey abroad for the sake of filling his personal coffers, but still wants to keep his options open by insisting that he will be a keen contender for a spot on the team bench when it is time for the next World Cup and Olympics. The PHF, on its part, is dancing on his tunes by continuing to invite him to the national camp even though he has turned down several such invitations and requests in the recent past.
Hockey, let’s not forget it, is a physically demanding game, and it is not possible to stay away from the international scene for long and then just walk in one fine morning to play, of all things, the World Cup itself. We know he is playing league stuff, but the level of competition at the club level, be it Holland, Germany or anywhere else, is no more than a minuscule fraction of what it is like on the international scene.
On an average, there will never be more than a couple of international players in a club team. Is that good enough a preparation for something like the World Cup? As for Sohail, his prime asset is his penalty corner prowess. Taking shots against second-grade goalkeepers and defenders can bring him any number of goals and push his ratings higher on the club chart. In turn, this will surely enable him to market himself on even better terms on the league circuit, but it can never make him try new tricks and keep pace with international standards.
Apart from being a physically challenging game, hockey also happens to be a team affair. One has to move in tandem both in defence and attack, and every drill, be it related to penalty corners or to some field strategy, has to be practised over and over again along with teammates to attain some level of mutual understanding and perfection. It is just not possible to walk in and be part of a team from which he has decided to stay away. Sohail Abbas has apparently decided his priorities in which his person comes before the nation. It is time for the PHF to move on.
IN the last week or so there were at least two news reports that made me wonder once again what should be one’s priority when there is a contest between personal issues and national duty. I have always believed that there is nothing more important than national honour and duty. Money, fame, prestige, social and professional engagements, they all pale into insignificance when there is a call for national duty. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that way. There was a whole generation which shared my belief and still does. But times have apparently changed, and have changed for the worse.
Saeed Khan, who has replaced Samiullah, is a seasoned hand. He has been with the team in the past, and was a member of the panel of national selectors before he was asked to take over as the camp commandant. I am sure he would not be wearing his two caps simultaneously, because that would be against the national interest.
