Chennai: Pakistan's interim coach Muhammad Saqlain on Friday blamed the national federation for the sorry state of affairs of hockey in the country, saying the need of the hour is to get rid of the "Black Sheeps" out of the sporting body for the survival of the game back home.
Just like neighbours India, Pakistan has had a rich hockey history having won eight Olympic medals, including three golds, four world titles and eight Asian Games crown among others. But it has gone from bad to worse for Pakistan hockey since 2010 when the country won its last big medal -- gold in Gunagzhou Asian Games. Since then the nation has failed to qualify for the Olympics and World Cup.
"The PHF can definitely do better, or else, it will be hard for Pakistan hockey to survive like this. I was talking to Dilip Tirkey (Hockey India president) the other night, and when he gave me the calculation of the money invested in Indian hockey, I lost count. When you invest so much, you are most certain to get results," Saqlain said after his side won 6-1 win over China to finish fifth in the Asian Champions Trophy here.
"Our team played competitive hockey after eight months, and it is tough to survive in international hockey like this. We need to get rid of the Black Sheeps in the PHF." Saqlain also feels merely criticising the players and the team won't do any good for Pakistan hockey. "Also, the ones who are criticising the team must think twice before doing it, especially when the team is playing an important tournament like this. Demoralising these young players in the middle of a is never a wise thing to do."
Asked what did he discussed with HI President Tirkey, Saqlain said he requested the former India captain to revive Indo-Pak bilateral hockey series, besides urging him to allow Pakistani players to play in the soon-to-revived Hockey India League. "Tirkey sounded extremely positive and is an extremely generous and helpful guy, especially when it comes to the players. I requested him to revive the India-Pakistan series, besides also requesting him to accommodate our players in the league (HIL) that is held here.
"Playing in the league would only benefit our players. The broken bond needs to reunite," he said. Saqlain said the current Pakistan outfit is a young side and the players need more game time to get to to the top level and maintain consistency. "The team is extremely young. However, if we keep playing like this, they will gain enough experience and keep getting better. As you can see, they are getting better every game," he said. "It's just been one-and-a-half months coaching this side. However, we did surprise all. Compared to other teams, we along with India have made the most penetrations inside the opponent's box and have also taken the most short corners."
Pakistan suffered a brutal 0-4 loss to arch-rivals India on Wednesday. Pakistan will feature in the Asian Games set to be held in Hangzhou, China next month and Saqlain pointed out three to four areas of improvement ahead of the continental showpiece. "Firstly, we must improve our physical fitness. Secondly, our defence during penalty corners is still shaky. Also, finishing has been a long-standing problem for Pakistan hockey. We also have to work on our baseline structure," he observed. (PTI)
