Pakistan hockey flops after showing promise
With teams like India, China and Japan not competing, there were practically only three contenders for the title: Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia; with others only making the numbers.
The present set up of PHF takes great pride in having established 18 hockey academies for youngsters all over the country. It has been two-and-a-half year since these academies came into being. The squad included a couple of players from the academies. Another youngster Rizwan Jr was a member of the national senior team which reached the final of the Azlan Shah Cup last May. Rana Mujahid had himself stated that at least three players have the potential to be drafted in the senior squad right away. Considering all this, finishing third in Singapore was a huge disappointment.
Pakistan’s senior squad figured in two four-Nations tournaments, both in Europe but against oppositions of completely different strengths. The first assignment in Dublin pitted Pakistan against France, China and the hosts, Ireland — all ranked outside top 15 in the world. The recent show of the national team, especially in their last international outing at Azlan Shah Cup, suggested the Greenshirts would not have much difficulty against such an opposition. A shock awaited in the very first match as France outplayed Pakistan 4-2. The Asian Games gold medalists struggled to beat China 3-2 and Ireland 2-1, thus qualifying to meet the hosts again in the final. Pakistan again had to fight hard and won by the same margin (2-1).
They faced a much bigger test in Amsterdam. Pakistan, ranked eighth in the world, were pitted against Germany, Holland and England ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. In their opening tie, against the European champions England, Pakistan were leading 2-1 with just one minute remaining but conceded a goal in the last seconds. Next they faced Germany and lost 1-2. Their opponents on the final day were the hosts Holland. The Dutch won by a big margin of 4-0 thus condemning Pakistan to the last place with just one point.
Of the seven matches on the European tour, only the show against England and Germany in Amsterdam can be termed satisfactory. They struggled in all the four matches against minnows in Dublin and lost badly against Holland in Amsterdam.
Some perennial problems were very much evident. A suitable replacement for Sohail Abbas is yet to be unearthed. The ageing drag flicker still finds it difficult to score against better opposition. The world record holder for the most international goals netted four goals in Ireland but only one in Holland. Forwards were also goal shy scoring just seven in as many matches.
As has always been the case, the management has come out with bizarre statements. After the humiliation against France in the first match of the tour, weather was blamed, “coming from Pakistan’s summers we had to play in the cold of 6 degrees.”
We are living in 2011. The management could not have been unaware of the conditions in Dublin and should have made the preparations accordingly. A single vest-like garment called ‘thermal’ is sufficient to protect the body from the cold. That was about 15 years ago. Technology must have even better protection to offer today.
After the 0-4 defeat to Holland, Pakistan manager Khawaja Junaid said his team lost heart after the first goal. Pakistan were angered by the quickly taken sideline injection by Floris Evers that led to that initial goal in the 10th minute. It is not uncommon for a team to feel wronged by a goal given against them. This doesn’t mean that they become so upset as to lose their way completely; that too at the top international level. Junaid is generally regarded as a sensible person. His statement about the controversial first goal, “that was the time when it became difficult to implement our plan” is nonsensical. If a manager has no plan to bounce back after going down by one goal in only the 10th minute then he doesnít fit the bill.
If Pakistan want to achieve respectable results at the 2012 Olympics and the 2013 Junior World Cup, officials like Bajwa, Junaid, Michel van den Heuvel and Mujahid have work cut out for them. And they should also refrain from flimsy excuses and ridiculous statements.
