DURING the last week Pakistan Hockey Federation featured repeatedly in newspaper columns. But it got the spotlight for more wrong reasons than the right ones. The national coach was quoted from Sialkot as saying that the hockey establishment had done away with the short-listed players for the team’s next two assignments in Germany and Holland, and had, instead, decided to go ahead with fresh trials which would give another chance to the discarded players.
Then came PHF Secretary Musarratullah’s confession that he was responsible for the debacle at the Junior World Cup where the team could manage a disgusting seventh position. However, it was in the same breath that he refused to resign from his PHF post. And, finally, it was a letter written to the PHF by the Senate Standing Committee on Sports that made headlines in the media. Let’s take them one by one in order to have a more practical perspective on what is going on within the country’s hockey establishment.
For starters, the statement by the national coach is reflective of the confusion prevailing in the PHF corridors. By going back on its own decision to shortlist the touring party, the PHF has confirmed the belief of many that it is groping in the dark, not being sure of its own decisions and going back on them to project a false impression among the followers of the game that it is trying to do something.
As for Brigadier (retd) Musarratullah’s statement, the least said, the better, for he has taken a strange view of the scenario. Once you admit your fault, there is hardly a moral pedestal to stand on, but the PHF secretary has tried to indulge in some kind of blame game. Going purely by published accounts, the secretary cited the team’s composition at the recent Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia as the basic reason why the juniors could not perform well during the World Cup. “Some of the junior players who were not given a chance or were played only briefly in the Azlan Shah event lost confidence when they went into the Junior World Cup and the team began to decline,” he was quoted as saying.
Regardless of the accuracy and legitimacy of his assertion — because he is entitled to hold his opinion — it is his disinclination to take responsibility that is amazing. “It was a collective decision and it is wrong to single me out for the results, and I think that others involved should also take blame,” he argued. If that is his official position, I wonder what he meant when, according to the same newspaper report, he “admitted full responsibility” for the team’s poor showing at the Junior World Cup.
While I can’t show him the path that he needs to take, for it is a decision solely between him and the PHF, I cannot resist recalling that it was under similar circumstances that such well-known names as Brig Atif, Brig Hameedi and Col Mudassar made way for others to bring in fresh ideas and put Pakistan Hockey back on track. And, mind you, the three named above had years and years of hockey behind them unlike the incumbent who, in terms of background, has little to do with international hockey and its strenuous demands.
I also read with interest his claim that the PHF had not run out of ideas and the PHF still has “plenty of options”. The decision to re-open trials instead of picking up the team from its own short-listed players was, perhaps, one of the “options” the PHF secretary was apparently talking about! But, jokes apart, I have no reason to doubt the words of Secretary Musarratullah. If he says he has “plenty of options”, I am sure he has them. What I fail to understand, however, is why did he not make use of those options in the last several years that he has been sitting on the PHF throne. The team has gone from bad to worse, and yet the secretary kept his options close to his chest. Amazing! But, more importantly, why?
And, finally, to the letter written by the relevant Senate committee to the PHF, seeking details of its internal inquiry on human smuggling. This is really a sensitive issue, and I do not wish to comment on it in the absence of any first-hand information related to the issue. The Senate committee is also probing allegedly mala fide appointments within the PHF, but, again, these are matters still under investigation and, therefore, I have to wait and see — just like you — which way it goes from here.
However, seeing them in totality — the confusion, the blame game and administrative hiccups — one can easily reach the conclusion that the house of PHF is in total disarray, and needs someone to give it a professional direction. As I have said repeatedly in the recent past, Tariq Kirmani, at this point in time, is the nation’s best bet for he is a professional with a track record of turning things around. And, he is new to the PHF which means he does not have the bias that rules the life of those who has been around for huge periods of time. If you take my word on this, let us continue to keep an eye on him. This just might work.
DURING the last week Pakistan Hockey Federation featured repeatedly in newspaper columns. But it got the spotlight for more wrong reasons than the right ones. The national coach was quoted from Sialkot as saying that the hockey establishment had done away with the short-listed players for the team’s next two assignments in Germany and Holland, and had, instead, decided to go ahead with fresh trials which would give another chance to the discarded players.
As for Brigadier (retd) Musarratullah’s statement, the least said, the better, for he has taken a strange view of the scenario. Once you admit your fault, there is hardly a moral pedestal to stand on, but the PHF secretary has tried to indulge in some kind of blame game. Going purely by published accounts, the secretary cited the team’s composition at the recent Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia as the basic reason why the juniors could not perform well during the World Cup. “Some of the junior players who were not given a chance or were played only briefly in the Azlan Shah event lost confidence when they went into the Junior World Cup and the team began to decline,” he was quoted as saying.
