How many of you have watched India-Pakistan hockey games in 70s and 80s? Ahhh, they were the epitome of classical field hockey! Ballet on the field, stickwork, speed and short passes of Tahir Zaman, Samiullah and Hasan Sardar! There was nothing more beautiful to watch in sports! Oh well, the situation has changed. Pakistan has not qualified for the 2023 world cup. Gone are those days of neighborly rivalry that defined the art of hockey!
Pakistan has won the world cup 4 times out of 14. In fact, Col Noor Khan of Pakistan is the one who initiated and organized the first world cup in 1971. So, what the fxxx is going on? What happened?
I tried to read the sports articles in Pakistani media on google. They have the usual complaints that modern hockey has stolen the emphasis of stick work, shifted the focus of the game to Europe blah blah blah! But they never did the homework that modern hockey was introduced in 1986 and Pakistan still emerged as the champion in 1994. Media also blamed resources, corruption, administrators, and the government exactly the way India did in the 1980s when it collapsed spectacularly from the top of hockey. Those were generic issues. So, what really happened in 2023? That is a freaking bizarre story.
The scene is the Asia cup 2022. Top four teams would have qualified for the world cup. In the Pakistan-Japan match a draw game would have been sufficient for Pakistan to qualify. Pakistan scored and it was now 3-3. Then the referee saw that Pakistan had 12 players on the field. The Pakistan captain got a five-minute suspension. Pakistan could not believe that they had 12 players on the field. They objected. During the review, it was found that 12 players were on the field during the previous goal itself and hence, the goal was withdrawn. Pakistan lost the game and were eventually never reached the top four positions. Have you ever heard of such a bizarre idiotic story?
It would have been so much fun to beat Pakistan! But that rivalry is no more! Sad, indeed!
