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“In line with the directions from the FIH, the PHF, its affiliated units and players will not participate in the World Series of Hockey (WSH). Strict action will be taken against all those who will violate these instructions,” a PHF spokesman said. Having taken that stance, the PHF announced a controversial ruling, banning over-30-year-old players from all domestic tournaments. Barred from a big pay day in WSH and also at home, the decision left the ‘senior’ players fuming. “I am in favour of bringing in young blood in Pakistan hockey. But given the available pool of talent in the country, the demand from the PHF of not featuring players over the age of 30 years is unreasonable,” former star and Olympian Samiullah said.
Doubtful Dutch National coach Michel van den Heuvel of the Netherlands was missing as tussle between the players and federation ensued, and there were rumours of a possible exit with the Dutchman citing ‘security concerns.’ PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa claimed that while Heuvel had expressed concerns over security in Pakistan, he was willing to continue his assignment with a revised contract. He has stayed on but it remains unclear whether he will continue after failing to inspire the team in the latter half of the year.
Domestic On the domestic circuit, NBP were crowned champions of the 58th National Hockey Championship after edging out a tough PIA side 4-3. The final saw young Mohammad Tauseeq emerge onto the big stage and cement his place in the national side.
Nowhere to go There wasn't much international action for Pakistan in first half of 2011, though, as its bilateral series against Egypt was cancelled due to protests in the North African country while its series with India failed to materialise due to a legal case between Hockey India and India Hockey Federation.
Almost-champions at Azlan Shah It wasn’t the ideal preparation ahead of the coveted Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, featuring world champions Australia and Great Britain and New Zealand other than top Asian sides South Korea and India. They were dealt another blow when regular captain and veteran Zeeshan Ashraf decided to skip the event. In his place the 21-year-old Mohammad Imran was picked to lead the side. The ‘Greenshirts’ fared surprisingly well under the young skipper, however, beating New Zealand (4-2), India (3-1), South Korea (4-2) and losing to Australia (5-1) and England (3-2) in the group stages. Having made the final on points, Pakistan lost to Australia (3-2) again, a tight game that could have gone either way until the last minute. ‘Senior’ members of the side Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi impressed and PHF attributed the sting in their performances to the inclusion of youngsters in the side. Goal-keeper Imran Shah, drafted in as a replacement for Salman Akbar, also showed glimpses of his ability.
“(The young players) are the future of Pakistan hockey, and I am glad that they are showing good form. We have to keep exposing them to tougher matches,” manager Khawaja Junaid said.
Euro tour The Azlan Shah Cup was followed by Pakistan’s tour of Europe including the four-nation UCD Tournament in Dublin, Ireland (June 20 to 25); the four-nation Rabo Tournament in Amsterdam (June 28 to July 2) and a Test series against several European teams.
In Dublin, they faced off against France, China and hosts Ireland, and won the UCD tournament but not before losing to minnows France and twice being put to the test by Ireland. The Rabo Cup in Amsterdam saw the Greenshirts take on big guns Germany, England and Netherlands. As was widely predicted, they finished last, failing to register a win. “Pakistan has shown improvement but we needed to make big strides if we are to compete against the European teams,” Pakistan’s legendary centre-forward Hasan Sardar said after the tournament. Meanwhile another great Samiullah claimed the tour was a waste “with 80 per cent old players in the line-up.”
“PHF wasted a golden opportunity to test and groom young talent against the European teams and build them for London 2012,” he added.
PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa was of another view, however. “Whether you lose or win against teams like Germany and Holland, it is not a matter of concern. All that matters is that the more you play against strong teams, the more you will have strong chances to secure a win against them,” he said.
Tough pitch Pakistan preparations for the 2012 London Olympics also suffered as the laying of the new pitches in Islambad and Lahore, similar to that of the Olympics, hit several roadblocks.
Wasteful Asian Champions Trophy Retaining Mohammad Imran as captain, the PHF ignored the experienced trio of Rehan Butt, Sohail Abbas and Waseem Ahmad for the first Asian Champions Trophy and put up a much improved show. Pakistan lost to India 4-2 on penalties in the final of the event. Pakistan were wasteful during normal time, which saw them waste five penalty corners, a traditionally strong suit for Pakistan.
Team manager Khwaja Junaid, though, sounded hopeful: “If we look at the formation of the team, seven players are new comers with very little international experience and exposure and in such circumstances reaching the final is a big achievement which we should acknowledge to encourage our young guns.”
Good performance from the younger players in the Asian Champions Trophy has created more competition and seniors will have to prove their form and fitness to make a comeback into the team.”
No room for veterans Chief selector Hanif Khan virtually closed the door for former captain Asharf saying, “Zeeshan can keep on saying he is fit and willing to play for Pakistan but it doesn’t carry any meaning.” Similar words were used for experienced forward Rehan Butt but star drag-flicker Sohail Abbas was recalled along with senior goalkeeper Salman Akbar for the Champions Trophy camp. “Now that we know that we still don’t have a replacement for Sohail, we have decided to call him to the camp where we will work extra hard on his fitness to keep him in good shape until next year’s Olympics.”
Better Down Under With the return of Abbas, Akbar and Waseem Ahmed, Pakistan warmed up for the Champions Trophy, with a string of good performances in the inaugural International Super Series in Perth, Australia before winning a tri-series in the same country that included the hosts and India.
Fierce factions “I believe that Pakistan team can be placed with any other strong outfit of the world and have made great strides in the last one year,” coach Michel van den Heuvel said in an exclusive interview with Dawn. His optimism, however, failed to inspire the ‘Greenshirts’ in the mega event as they narrowly avoided the wooden spoon, needing an extra-time golden goal from Muhammad Rizwan senior to snatch a 5-4 win over South Korea. Sources in the federation revealed one of the reasons for the debacle: “The national hockey team right now is divided into three groups. There are those who back Shakeel Abbasi, those who favour Mohammad Imran as skipper and those who just want to play good hockey while minding their own business.”
Prediction for 2012: gloomy The final weeks of the year saw Pakistan complete a clean sweep of China in their four-match series, the first international hockey event in the country since 2004.
Unfortunately, though, it seems the game is likely to follow a similar pattern in 2012 with the federation and former Olympians all set for what it seems a very nasty legal battle. Not the ideal scenario as the London Olympics draw closer.
- Pakistan had a disappointing year in football —File photo by AFP
For the Pakistan football team, 2011 started with the departure of English coach Graham Roberts and a calendar full of important games to look forward to. Tariq Lutfi was soon chosen by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) as the replacement for Roberts, with his first assignment being the Olympic qualifiers against Malaysia.
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Olympic dream crushed In the first leg of the Olympic qualifiers against Malaysia in Kaula Lampur, Pakistan fell to a 2-0 loss after Wan Zaharul Nizam Zakaria and Ansar Abbas scored for the hosts. For the second leg in Lahore, Pakistan needed to win by a three-goal margin or more. However, the Green Shirts missed several chances to score and only managed a goalless draw to give Malaysia a second-round ticket.
In the away leg of the qualifiers, Pakistan were thrashed 3-0 by Bangladesh at the rain-soaked Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka —AFP PhotoA half-done series
After the disappointment of the Olympic qualifiers, Pakistan geared up to host Palestine for a bilateral series with Pakistan hosting Palestine in March and Pakistan visiting the Arab state in May as preparation for the upcoming preliminary round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh.
The first match of the Pakistan-Palestine series, which kicked off in Lahore, saw a disappointing performance from Pakistan and a 2-1 win for the guests. The second home leg of the series in Karachi saw a slightly better performance from Pakistan and the hosts managed to hold on to a goalless draw. However, Pakistan’s visit to Palestine in May was cancelled after failing to get the No-Objection Certificate from the Palestinian government.
U-16 football team clinched the SAFF U-16 title in Nepal after an impressive unbeaten run throughout the tournament. —AFP PhotoA damp World Cup ticket Pakistan’s World Cup qualifiers preparations took a hit because of the cancellation of the tour to Palestine and the home leg of the qualifiers also seemed to be in jeopardy as Bangladesh’s coach Robert Rubcic was reluctant to travel to Pakistan because of security concerns. However, FIFA cleared Pakistan to host the second leg and the second leg of the qualifiers took place in Lahore.
In the away leg of the qualifiers, Pakistan were thrashed 3-0 by Bangladesh at the rain-soaked Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. Pakistan’s coach Lutfi stated after the match that his team lost because of the unplayable conditions of the ground. To progress to the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, Pakistan needed to win by a four-goal margin but failed to do that in Lahore.
Last-minute ditch After crashing out of the World Cup qualifiers, the PFF announced that Pakistan and India will be playing a three-match series in the UK in July. But the series was called off a week before it was scheduled to take place because the sponsor Touch Sky Sports pulled out. PFF threatened to take action against the event-management company but nothing was done.
Farah Vohra was the only girl in Pakistan's five-member swimming contingent for the Special Olympics. —File photo by White StarSomething to cheer about In August, Pakistan’s U-16 football team clinched the SAFF U-16 title in Nepal after an impressive unbeaten run throughout the tournament. The SAFF U-16 title was Pakistan’s first international trophy since 2006, which they won after defeating India in the final.
Serb in town In November, a few weeks before the start of the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship, the PFF named Seribia’s Zaviša Milosavljevi? as the new coach of the Pakistan football team. Milosavlijevic said that his goal for the Green Shirts would be to “introduce players to the international standard, tactics and techniques of the game.”
South Asian disappointment The SAFF Championship kicked off with Pakistan playing its first match against Bangladesh and recording a 0-0 draw. This was followed by another goalless draw against Malaysia and Pakistan’s SAFF campaign ended after a 1-1 draw with Nepal.
Home front On the local front, the 7th National Women’s Championship took place in September and Young Rising Star retained their title after edging out Dua FC in the final. The Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) concluded in December with Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) clinching the title with 77 points from 30 matches while Afghan FC and Army finished second and third respectively with 57 points each.
A special year for the Special Olympians The 82-member Pakistani contingent that took part in the Special Olympics World Games in Athens returned home with a staggering tally of 56 medals.
It was truly a triumphant achievement for the country which was also chosen as the torch bearer from among the 185 participating countries at the historic opening ceremony.
Pakistan participated in eight disciplines including Athletics, Aquatics, Badminton, Basketball, Bocce, Cycling, Football and Table Tennis.
The 2011 contingent built on the performance of previous Pakistani teams that have always given a good performance in the Games; four years ago Pakistani athletes won 43 medals in Shanghai. —Emmad Hameed
