No Pakistan in the Paris Olympic Games hockey? Considering that it is the third straight time that its team will not figure in the men’s hockey competition in the greatest spectacle of sport, it is very tempting to see it as not very shocking, but par for the course. Not a big deal at all, one can say with a shrug of the shoulder or a raised eyebrow.
Yet, it is a fact that sporting competitions do not evoke the same awe if one of the most successful teams does not make the grade. You can dismiss one as an emotional fool. Yet, even if the sport has evolved immensely in the past 50 years, it tells a sad story that a country with nine podium finishes, including three gold in six final appearances would miss the Olympic Games once again.
When it stepped on the pitch for its opening match in the Olympic qualifer in Muscat against Britain, it was almost as if the team had just not recovered from the 2-10 hammering by India in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. Pakistan ended up a 1-6 loser and made it to the semifinals, courtesy a 2-0 win against China and a 3-3 draw with Malaysia in the other league games.
Pakistan needed to win one of its last two matches in the Olympic qualifier in Muscat to secure tickets to Paris but lost 0-4 to formidable Germany in the semifinals and frittered a 2-1 lead to lose 2-3 to New Zealand in the third-place play-off. New Zealand conceded that Pakistan was gritty, but it found two goals in the final 10 minutes to snatch the tickets to Paris.
Sadly, Pakistan is looking for scapegoats for its woes. From umpires, both on the hockey pitch and TV, to Technical Directors, Pakistan has pointed fingers everywhere else but has refused to look inwards. The sooner it starts a sincere introspection, perhaps involving some unbiased experts from overseas, the better it would be for Pakistan.
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You have to go back to the 2012 Olympic Games in London to see a Pakistan team-list. Curiously, while it finished seventh, India ended up with the wooden spoon in the 12-team contest. The two teams, forced to return to the drawing board, have been on contrasting journeys since then, with Pakistan unable to arrest a free fall.
At the end of the day, Olympic Games hockey spots have to be earned. Not a single berth is given away because of a legacy, let alone as hereditary gift. It would be very easy to say that Pakistan hockey reflects the state of its economy and be done with it, but its hockey administration can take the entire blame for its woes.
For the sheer proximity, the easiest thing for Pakistan hockey would be to see how India has bounced back to being a leading nation in world hockey after spending considerable time in the morass. Pakistan hockey would only gain if it took a leaf from the story of India’s journey back to the hockey elite.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation has been beset by a number of problems, not the least being the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) decision to strip its right to host an Olympic Games qualifier. And this when a Pakistani (Tayyab Ikram) heads the world body!
From hosting its own league so that the home-grown talent felt comfortable when taking on the best overseas talent to enjoying a harmonious relationship with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, from ensuring long duration national camps for a large pool of players to hiring the right coaches and support staff, Hockey India took concerted steps to revitalise the game.
Pakistan team captain Ammad Butt revealed on Instagram that the players had trained without facilities, without government support, without sponsorship, without any media coverage and without a professional system. In the era of professionalism, to bank on an amateur set up to compete at the global level is a certain recipe for disaster.
Despite FIH acting against Government interference, Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti was installed as PHF Chairman by Prime Minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar. But Brig. Khalid Sajjad Khokar (retd.), who was seen making decisions and revoking them at will, continues to enjoy FIH patronage as PHF Chairman. It is almost as if no one, not even the FIH, wants to revive Pakistan hockey.
Yes, it will take a great deal of political will to bring Pakistan hockey back on the rails. But that seems in severe short supply at the moment. Until that happens, hockey fans have to reconcile themselves to speaking of Pakistan’s tryst with Olympic hockey in the past with awe and wait for the day when news will filter in that it is back in the Olympic fold.
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