Pakistan junior hockey team is set to participate in three major international events — Sultan of Johar invitational tournament, the junior Asia Cup and the Junior World Cup — in a span of 14 months from now. However, it will not come as a surprise if the juniors also follow in the footsteps of their seniors.

Pakistan’s participation in the Junior World Cup is subject to them finishing among the top three nations in the Junior Asia Cup later this year. India has already qualified for the event as hosts.

After a lull, the national junior hockey team will fly to Malaysia next month to compete in the fifth Sultan of Johar junior hockey tournament being played at Johar Bahru from Oct 11-18.

After finishing at the bottom in the same event participated by six-nations last year, the Pakistan juniors have no international exposure. At home, the players had featured in national junior hockey championship and a couple of domestic tournaments.

Record shows that Pakistan had won inaugural events of many international hockey competitions including the junior World Cup held at Versilles, France in 1979 under the captaincy of Manzoor Hussain Junior.

Then, there was much focus on juniors which can be gauged from the fact that Pakistan finished on the victory podium five times – (I-I-3) in-a-row since inception of the junior World Cup.

Former international the late Sami Khan and former Olympian Jehangir Butt are known to have raised a formidable junior team which remained unbeaten in 27 international matches from April 1986 to Jan 1988 winning 25 and drawing two games.

Pakistan, according to record, had scored 175 goals and conceded 27 in the aforementioned matches. The tally also includes mammoth 55 goals that Pakistan scored against low-ranked Macau in the inaugural junior Asia Cup held at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium during Dec 1987 and Jan 1988.

Similarly, Pakistan hockey team that won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 includes 10 players from PIA including eight of the colts scheme. The eight players were Qasim Zia, Saleem Sherwani, Shahid Ali Khan, Ayaz Mahmood, Naeem Akhtar, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Nasir Ali and Khalid Hameed.

Meanwhile, the newly installed PHF has announced a 21-member squad for the coming Malaysian tour. Dilber Hussain has been named captain while Azfar Yaqoob will be deputy.

Both were members of the Pakistan team that won back-to-back silver medals at the Incheon Asian Games and Bhubaneswar Champions Trophy last year.

It would be wise that once a player steps into the senior team he should not be considered for selection in the juniors squad to make room for others.

Pakistan should learn lesson from China which is known for producing the world champions in different disciplines at the age of 14 and 15.

The new-look junior outfit faces a gigantic task in the coming international assignments and it is time to treat them at par with seniors in order to regain the glorious past.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2015

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