When this famous film song was heard from somewhere, why did I think that if the composer Masroor Anwar was alive today, he would have named his song after Pakistan Hockey, which is currently remembering its glorious past.
You must be surprised that Pakistan hockey team has returned home after winning the bronze medal in the Asian Champions Trophy and I am humming forgotten stories instead of singing the song of this victory, so there is a reason for that.
I have said this in the context of the overall situation of national hockey. A sport that has seen a glorious past lacks the luster of that bronze medal.
It should never be forgotten that the Chinese team, which the Pakistani team defeated by a clear margin of five to one in the group match, lost to them in the semi-finals a few days later.
The most disappointing thing is that the politics and hypocrisy in Pakistan’s hockey has become so rich and uncertainty has become so high that the national game does not seem to rise.
The affairs of national hockey are being run only by lip service and loud claims and players are leaving the country for a better future.
In the Asian Champions Trophy, the Pakistani hockey team lost to China in the semi-final, which is ranked 23rd in the world, while Pakistan is ranked 15th in the same world ranking.
The president and secretary of Pakistan Hockey Federation were found saying in the media before the Asian Champions Trophy that we had to arrange to send the team to China on loan.
On his statement, everyone sympathized with the federation and seemed to say how much injustice is being done to this national sport that the federation does not even have money to send the national team abroad.
But the other side of the picture suggests that if the Pakistan Hockey Federation is so financially strapped that it does not have money to buy air tickets for the players and everything is running on loans, then the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament and Where did millions of rupees come from for TADA to go to Malaysia and Poland for Federation President Tariq Bugti and Secretary Rana Mujahid in the Nations Cup?
PHF president has also visited China for the third time. It means not to leave Toghrebi crying on one side and joy riding on the other side.
The PHF has publicly admitted that the President and Secretary received Rs 92 lakhs as TADA for their visits to Malaysia and Poland, which they were entitled to as per the rules and regulations of the Federation and the Federation in the past. The presidents and secretaries have been taking these allowances.
It is also important to mention that the daily allowance of the president of the federation is 500 dollars per day while on foreign tour.
That is, to say on the one hand that there is no money to send the team out and on the other hand to immediately receive millions of rupees for yourself from the same account?
It is no less than a joke that the president of the federation announced a hundred dollars for each player of the bronze medal-winning team in the Asian Champions Trophy, which is only 28 thousand rupees in Pakistani rupees.
On this generosity of the president of the federation, former Olympian goalkeeper Saleem Sherwani said to me very well that these players should immediately arrange guards to protect these dollars.
We have been hearing for a long time that the Pakistan Hockey Federation is always waiting for the government grant and its complaints about it do not end even though Qasim Zia, Akhtar Rasool, Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Asif Bajwa, Shehbaz Ahmed and Rana Mujahid, etc. During Olympian’s tenure, PHF has been receiving uninterrupted grants from the government.
Even the Sindh government has been providing a large sum of money to the federation but on the other hand there have been reports of alleged financial and administrative irregularities and investigations against these officials.
Reports are that the current federation had demanded a huge amount from the Pakistan Sports Board for the camp and tour to prepare for the Asian Champions Trophy, which the Pakistan Sports Board flatly rejected.
Also, the sports board had said that it had asked for some necessary documents from the federation which were not provided to it.
Just a few days ago, according to the figures released by the Pakistan Sports Board of the grants issued to the national federations of various sports, Pakistan Hockey Federation has been given an amount of 10.36 million rupees during the last five years Out of which only one grant of Rs.590 million was given in FY 24/2023.
Just three days ago, the news spread in the media that the Pakistan Sports Board has provided 23 million rupees to meet the financial needs of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.
The question arises that if the Pakistan Hockey Federation is really suffering from financial difficulties, then why does its president leave for every foreign visit?
Does his personality have the charm of Air Marshal Noor Khan that he goes to boost the morale of the team on these foreign tours?
Due to the unprofessional attitude of Pakistan Hockey Federation, no foreign coach is willing to work with him.
The latest example of this is Roelant Altmans of the Netherlands, about whom the Federation officials are reluctant to reveal the facts.
The fact is that the federation did not bother to invite Altmans in the camp they organized in Islamabad for the Asian Champions Trophy because the Dutch coach would have to be paid for it, instead the federation asked him to Join the team in China.
Altmans wanted to sign a long-term contract with the federation but after the federation’s lack of interest, he refused to work with the Pakistan Hockey Federation any more and at the last minute former Olympian Tahir Zaman was appointed as coach.
You may recall that before Altmans, two coaches from Holland, Michael van den and Siegfried Ekman, had also openly criticized the unprofessional style of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.
Michael van den had differences over the selection while Aikman resigned last year over non-payment of salary.
On the one hand, the leaders of the Pakistan Hockey Federation are crying about financial difficulties, on the other hand, many players have also moved abroad after seeing the situation here to improve their future.
This is the reason why the Pakistani team in the Asian Champions Trophy was deprived of the services of many of its players who have gone out of the country at the moment.
Pakistan’s Ahmed Shakeel Butt lies on the field after sustaining a nose injury during their match against England at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on April 8, 2018 (AFP)
Three of these players, Murtaza Yaqoob, Abdul Rehman and Ehtisham Aslam, have been banned for life by the PHF, who it says have left the country without informing the federation and have taken refuge there.
I regularly talk to a number of former Olympians about hockey. Manzoorul Hasan says that it is a pity that the Pakistani team lost in the shootout and there should be an investigation as to why the shootout was conducted with new players in the presence of experienced players.
According to Manzoorul Hasan, this era is such that nothing can be hidden, everything is like an open book and the federation should also realize this.
Hockey cannot be brought back to its former glory without introducing a sports culture across the country.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
This is the government’s job. The decline of hockey started many years ago. Institutions have eliminated teams.
The National Junior Championship is being held again after five years. When this is not happening regularly, where will the talent come from?
According to former Olympian Rashid Al Hasan, the current situation is worrying. We could not have imagined that we would lose to a team like China, but this day also had to be seen.
During the last few years, the Pakistani team seemed to be in chaos in big and important matches.
I also spoke to Tahir Zaman, the head coach of the Pakistani team in the Asian Champions Trophy and asked him for his opinion on the current situation.
Since Tahir Zaman, I have been closely related for three decades. He is an outspoken person who speaks without any strings attached.
He said that he decided to become a coach at the last moment for the sake of the country, it was a difficult decision, although he knows that any professional coach will look at his decision with a critical eye.
Tahir Zaman said that both the federation and him are in favor of continuing this association in the future, which will now be discussed regularly, but he also said that Pakistan’s hockey still has a long way to go and it needs better planning.
Professional thinking is required for this. A professional league has to be started here.
A National High Performance Center must be created. It is very important to work on the welfare of the players. They should get central contracts.
It is important to make such a system that players get their allowances in time.
Trust needs to be established between the players and the federation. Funding is very important.
Such a mechanism should be made that if the government does not give money, but it fulfills all the requirements for the implementation of this high performance program of the federation itself.
Note: This article is based on the personal opinion of the writer, Independent Urdu does not necessarily agree with it.
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2024-09-22 17:45:40