The nation remains in a state of shock at Pakistan's inability to qualify for the 2010 Champions Trophy after suffering a humiliating defeat against New Zealand in the final of the recently concluded Champions Challengers Cup in Salta, Argentina. Qualifiers New Zealand will be competing in the 2010 Champions Trophy and Australia, the holders of the 2009 six-nation trophy, would be defending the title. Pakistan will now compete in the 2011 Challengers Cup to qualify for the six-nation trophy in 2012. The Champions Trophy is considered the toughest tournament in international hockey as compared to the Olympics and the World Cup. On the basis of world ranking, Pakistan was the highest ranked seventh team at Salta and the green shirts should have given a far better performance than they did.
The Pakistan team management — PHF secretary and team manager Asif Bajwa, chief coach Shahid Ali Khan and captain Zeeshan Ashraf — was extremely confident that Pakistan will come home victorious. The inclusion of five seasoned campaigners — fullback penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas, forwards Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi, left half Waseem Ahmed and goal keeper Salman Akbar, who are playing in foreign leagues but called in to join the squad, further strengthened the belief of the Pakistan hockey policy makers.
Pakistan scored a total of 15 goals and conceded 11 in five matches, winning three and losing two in the nine-day tournament which concluded recently. Placed in the four-team Group B, Pakistan struggled to defeat Canada by 2-1 in the first match, lost to Argentina by 1-3 in the second match and outplayed South Africa by 4-1 in the last group encounter. After entering the semi finals, Pakistan inflicted a heavy 6-3 defeat on India. However, in the finals, we suffered defeat and were out of the Champions Trophy race.
Penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas, a world record holder with 305 goals, was the top scorer with seven goals, followed by Rehan Butt (4), talented forward Abdul Haseem Khan (2), and Shakeel Abbasi and Akhtar Ali with one goal each.
Sohail Abbas, who started his international career for Pakistan in the 1998 test series against India with former captain Islahudduin as manager, scored in all the five matches at Salta. However, he was constantly criticised by a section of the media for not converting all the penalty corners that Pakistan earned, which was unfair considering that Pakistan is not a one man team.
It is both unfortunate and disappointing that Pakistan has not been able to win a single major hockey tournament for well over a decade. In hockey circles, it is generally said and believed that the rebuilding process has been badly affected by the federation's policies and it might take a good number of years before a winning combination is selected. The PHF needs to alter its policies in the interest of rebuilding the team on a more modern and scientific approach, for presently our team lacks experience and expertise.
Throughout the Champions Trophy, it was observed that Pakistan failed to match the super fit New Zealand — ranked eight in the world — who mounted massive pressure at the fag end of the match after a 2-2 draw. Pakistan showed signs of exhaustion and New Zealand slammed two quick goals in two minutes during the last five-minute play. This only indicates that the Pakistani hockey team lacks physical fitness, stamina and proper skills.
The team's Dutch physical trainer seems to have failed at his job of getting the team in top physical shape even in grade two tournaments. It is suggested that hockey training camps also be organised at high altitudes, such as that of Abbottbad and Quetta, to match the weather conditions abroad for training the team in Lahore. Karachi and Islamabad will not prepare them enough for western climates.
Having qualified for the coming 12-nation World Cup in Indian capital in New Delhi, Pakistan now needs to work extremely hard to change the way the public is thinking.
