LAHORE: Terming the recent appointments of foreign coaches for Pakistan’s national senior team a call made in haste, former Olympian Tauqeer Dar on Saturday said that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) should have held thorough consultations with all stakeholders before taking major decisions.
“The decision to appoint the foreign coaches so quickly is a reactive step. You [PHF president Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani] had earlier appointed local coaches, considering them the best available [options] despite the fact that they were not coaching any team at the time,” Tauqeer said while speaking to media at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore.
“You have to take constructive decisions, and for that you need to consult extensively, with as many stakeholders as possible, without any bias,” the 62-year-old stressed.
“[However] when you oblige your friends, and they in turn oblige their own friends, the results will be exactly what we witnessed in the FIH Pro League,” he added.
Pakistan in a forgettable campaign lost all their 16 matches of the 2025-26 Pro League, which concluded in England last month, to finish at the bottom of the top-tier nine-team competition.
Reacting to this humiliating show, the PHF during the past couple of days appointed a number of foreign nationals, including veteran Dutch coach Herman Kruis, who was given the dual role of national hockey coaching adviser and head coach of the senior team that will again face the world’s leading sides in the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium next month.
Other foreign officials appointed by the PHF include Australian David Dwyer (fitness and high performance coach), Dutch Bob Johan Veldhof (goalkeeping coach) and Chris Bowen (sports psychologist) of Australia.
“Hockey is in our blood, and whenever our team gives such a pathetic performance, social media will not spare you,” Tauqeer said. “Following the public backlash [after the Pro League debacle], you rushed to appoint the foreign coaches. People should not expect dramatic improvements from such hasty remedial measures.
“When you [the PHF president] are relying on ChatGPT and artificial intelligence to answer your questions, decisions like these are bound to be taken without deep thought,” he remarked.
“Which team was Kruis coaching at the time that convinced you to appoint him as the national coaching adviser as well as head coach?
“You [the PHF president] need to come out of the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, sit at the PHF headquarters in Lahore, and visit other parts of the country to understand the true state of hockey before making major decisions,” Tauqeer said.
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2026