ISLAMABAD: Ex-Olympian Samiullah Khan, who once ruled the game of hockey and was named ‘Flying Horse’ by the critics for his agility and scoring, said on Friday that the entire nation is in mourning over Pakistan hockey team’s shameful disqualification from the Rio Olympics 2016 and the government must take drastic steps to revive the game in the country.

Speaking to Dawn, the veteran player said:“We are upset, this is not a joke. Today we have lost the last opportunity of even qualifying for the Olympics, let alone win any medals. The present hockey management should voluntarily tender their resignations after this humiliation.” “Enough is enough,” he said. “The government should take strict action against the hockey management which first deprived the nation of featuring in the World Cup and now we have missed the Olympic berth.”

“I’m very sad today, we are four time winners of the World Cup, we won several gold and silver medals in the Olympic, but now we are unable to even participate in these prestigious tournaments,” he bemoaned.

Samiullah, who has been raising his voice over the decline of the game for more than a decade now, said a strict audit of the PHF accounts and its affairs should be carried out immediately to bring the truth out in the open.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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