LAHORE, Aug 30: Former hockey players Manzoor-ul-Hasan Junior and Shahbaz Junior on Friday criticised the current Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) set-up for the national team’s defeat in the crucial semi-final against South Korea and said it was a ‘sad day’ for the country not to have qualified for the World Cup.

Ex-Olympian Manzoor, while talking to Dawn, said: “Our players did not play with unity as their focus was more on their individual play, and that was why their attack could not bear any fruit.

“Our right flank did not move with the due support of the centre-half which is always important to launch attacks to penetrate the defence of teams like Korea, Japan and China,” he said.

“No doubt it is one of the bad days for Pakistan hockey but it is not the end of the road as you have to play in the next Champions Trophy and hopefully in the Commonwealth Games too,” Manzoor said.

Manzoor Jr said head coach Akhtar Rasool and the PHF officials should step down after the defeat. “Akhtar had said that winning the World Cup-2014 was his target but we could not even qualify for it which is a ‘sad day’ in Pakistan history,” Manzoor said.

‘‘The performance of Pakistan under the current PHF management is pathetic. While we finished at the bottom in the 2010 World Cup, this time we are not even featuring among the 12 countries,” Manzoor lamented. “If we could not win against South Korea that is also a proof that our preparations for the World Cup were not enough,” he said.

Manzoor also reminded that in 2000, Pakistan could not qualify for the Junior World Cup too and Tahir Zaman, now coaching Pakistan team, with Khawaja Junaid was also at the helm of the junior team at the time.

Shahbaz Senior, another ex-Olympian, said the current PHF officials had damaged the game a lot and no one could even put it back on the right track in the next five years.

“For the last many years, the Olympians have been raising hue and cry against the foolish decisions of the PHF, but neither the previous government nor this has responded with any positive steps,” Shahbaz alleged.

Shahbaz said he would not blame new coach Tahir Zaman for this defeat since he joined the team at the juncture where we had no choice but to win the Asia Cup to qualify for the World Cup. “Not Tahir but the entire PHF and few others are really the culprits who are responsible for the defeat,” he said.