KARACHI: Pakistan hockey cannot be revived without adopting new ways of attracting the youth, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medalist Ayaz Mahmood said.
Mahmood suggested seven-a-side events under lights as one innovative approach of making hockey more crowd-friendly.
“We got to be innovative to attract youth and sponsors towards the game,” Mahmood told APP in an interview here on Wednesday.
“Without broadening the scope of the game and attracting youth towards hockey, it can not be revived,” he commented.
“Day/night games in cricket revolutionized the sport and such steps are needed in hockey too.”
Mahmood said a short, action-packed form of the game was the perfect recipe to also get the sponsors involved in hockey.
He said indoor and seven-a-side hockey in Europe helped in developing better brands of players.
According to the former coach of the national team, the climate in Pakistan was also a big deterrent in getting the crowd behind the game and a T20 style of hockey could prove beneficial.
“Pakistan is a warm country and lack of interest from masses is main hurdle in boosting the game,” the former Pakistan half-back said.
“Seven-a-side hockey is very exciting and is played on smaller grounds with ten minutes half each which can attract hockey supporters.”
“Without increasing the base of hockey nothing can be achieved.”
