THIS is apropos the article ‘The final nail in hockey’s coffin’ (July 14) by Khurram Shahzad. The writer has done no good to the beleaguered Pakistan hockey by painting a bleak picture of current state of our national game.

True, our team failed miserably to qualify for World Cup. The fiasco was shocking beyond words. To rub salt to their injuries, the recent humiliating defeat to Ireland at Hockey World League in Antewerp, Belgium has now deprived them of an honour to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics for the first time in history.

This was really unthinkable in the golden era of hockey in the 1980s and 1990s when Pakistan ruled the hockey world. The present scenario is indeed deplorable and condemnable to say the least. Yet, saying ‘hockey is dead’ or ‘the national game is dead’ is extremely unfair and disservice to the nation.

The recent criticism from all quarters in the wake of nightmarish defeat in Belgium cannot be defended for this dismal showing has broken the hearts of hockey fans and disappointed them to the core. But the question is: will this seemingly unending criticism do any good to our national game?

Pessimism or despair presents no solutions to the multiple problems besetting Pakistan hockey. The Pakistan Hockey Federation must do some soul-searching and sort out the problems by inviting the stakeholders to give their suggestions to pull Pakistan hockey out of its present morass.

Presently, our players are demoralised. What they need most now is encouragement and confidence. The prime minister, the chief patron of hockey, must take initiative to do the needful to redress the genuine grievances of players to save the game from further downslide or deterioration.

Khadim Hussain Subhpoto

Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015

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