Daily Times

Pakistan hockey continued to struggle for glory throughout the year 2016 without any success while junior squash team won the World Junior Team Squash Championship in Poland and boxer Mohammad Waseem defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) silver flyweight tile in South Korea to bring laurels for the country. In tennis, Pakistan were relegated to Group II of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania after New Zealand defeated them 5-0 in Christchurch. New Zealand retained their place in Asia-Oceania Group One of Davis Cup for 2017. Pakistan will have to start all over again in the Davis Cup’s Group II in 2017. At Rio Olympics in Brazil, Pakistan was represented by seven athletes, who competed in the qualification phases of their respective events and none of them went beyond this stage and neither did they look close to competing with their highly skilled, trained and battle-hardened opponents. Rio 2016 had been no different from London 2012, Beijing 2008 or any of the preceding Olympics going back to Atlanta 1996, with Pakistan returning empty-handed from each of the last six Games.

Each time, there has been a hue and cry over the dismal state of affairs but the fact is that Pakistan continues to nosedive further as time passes. Weak infrastructure, lack of stars, doping problems, substandard coaches, an illogical domestic calendar, dwindling sponsorship money and the ever-shrinking national circuit have left Pakistan sports in a poor shape. It is little wonder that Pakistan has not won a medal at the Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Not much hope for hockey in 2017: No sporting federation is a bed of roses, especially one that carries the aspirations of the nation. We are not a nation of sage souls. Rather we indulge in thoughtless decisions. Unfortunately, the technical understanding of issues is always ignored, and it triggers a rot. Throughout the year a multitude of sins in management, selection and coaching always got covered up through one cliché or the other. Ignored were the slips in the selection and the secretive manipulation that go behind the scenes for personal gains and self-aggrandisment, with constructive criticism always a poor second to the waving of the flag. The statements given by the Pakistan Hockey Federation top officials in the national media after the teams insipid performances were aimed at to make people believe that the national outfits were doing well, and that there was light at the end of the tunnel. The fact was that the way things were being conducted, the days ahead were anything but that. Despite all the available resources and hefty funds in the last one year, the PHF failed to put hockey back on track and get the desired results.

Pakistanis have an emotional connection with hockey; the older generation still talks and recall with great delight the spellbinding achievements of the past. While the present generation only has tales of the past to live on. Their love or connection with hockey is only going to be strengthened when they actually see the return of the lost glory. The need of the hour is to bring Pakistan hockey into line with the rest, best and the latest aspects of modern hockey as the game has changed a lot in recent years. Even the best of players cannot win without strategic strength as all team games need to have excellent preemptive and offensive strategies worked out scientifically. And for that we need those persons at the helm of affairs who are thorough professionals with solution to the predicament. Only then the elusive triumphs will replace the current tragedies that demean the team once basking in Olympic golds and world crowns. But with the present controversial and incompetent management in the national federation, the future looks not that bright. What is worse, it seems to be on an irrevocable downward slide. And realistically speaking, one should not harbour any hopes of the national hockey team doing any better or revive themselves to their former glory in 2017.

1: PHF snubs Champions Trophy invite over ‘fear of defeat’: In March, the incompetent management of the PHF turned down an offer from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to play in the Champions Trophy over ‘fear of defeat’. Being the silver medallists in the last edition in 2014, the FIH had extended the invitation to Pakistan to play in the elite team event but Pakistan turned down the offer citing ‘unpreparedness’. The PHF said there was no point to send the team to the Champions Trophy when it was expected to finish at the sixth place. Pakistan are the only Asian champions, with three titles to their name including the first two in 1978 and 1980 and the last coming in 1994. In 35 tournaments so far, Pakistan had appeared in 31 events winning three golds, seven silvers and as many bronze medals. 2016 Champions Trophy was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but the men’s event was switched to London after the FIH cancelled its contract with the Argentine Hockey Confederation over a dispute about television rights contracts and sponsorship. The event was held at the London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in June. The Australians have won the trophy thirteen, the Germans ten, and the Dutch eight times.

2: Pakistan finish fifth at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament: In April, Australia defeated India 4-0 to be crowned the champions of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, being played in Ipoh, Malaysia. In a classification match, Pakistan defeated Canada 3-1 to finish fifth, out of seven teams, in the tournament. Pakistan managed to win only two matches from a total of six in the competition. New Zealand’s title defence ended with a bronze medal after they beat hosts Malaysia 5-4 in a shootout following an exciting 3-3 draw.

3: Waseem becomes Pakistan’s first silver flyweight boxing champion: Pakistan’s Waseem became the country’s first boxer to win the WBC silver flyweight title after he defeated Philippines’ Jether Oliva at the Hilton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea in July. The judges unanimously declared the Quetta-based boxer as the winner, after he battled against his opponent for 12 rounds. Waseem, nicknamed Falcon, is the only Pakistani boxer competing at the professional circuit. He made a move to professional boxing after getting disheartened with the Pakistan Boxing Federation’s (PBF) negligence towards the national boxers.

4: Pakistan returns empty handed from Rio Olympics in Brazil: Pakistan took part in the Rio Olympics in August. For many it was a national tragedy as a seven-member contingent representing Pakistan at the Rio Olympics, with the national hockey team not even qualifying, came back empty handed. Critics and fans pronounced this Pakistan sports’ darkest hour. The national hockey team, once a major medal hope for the country at the Olympics with eight medals to show so far, including three golds, reached its nadir by failing to qualify for Rio. Nevertheless, the Games failed to add any substantial feats to sports records in Pakistan. As Pakistan returned empty-handed from the Games in Rio, small nations like Kosovo, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Ivory Coast won their first gold medals. And it seems that the Tokyo Games 2020 would not be any different. However, athletes alone are not fully responsible for such disappointing performances. Lack of governmental patronage in conjunction with a preferential treatment for sportsmen has long facilitated this dismal status quo. In lieu of supporting sports federations to nurture the upcoming talent in all sports, subsequent administrations have largely ignored athletic development in the country. Dilapidated training facilities with little-to-none modern training avenues largely restrain Pakistan athletes from securing positions in international competitions. Such an abysmal state of affairs should be immediately addressed if the country wishes to perform better at Tokyo 2020. It is not only the administration that needs to reconsider its approach towards sports sector. The societal mindset should also be significantly revolutionised if Pakistan aspires to see its athletes succeed in future.

5: Pakistan stun top-seed Egypt to win World Junior Team Squash Championship in Poland: Second-seed Pakistan stunned top-seed Egypt 2-1 in the final of World Junior Team Squash Championship to win their sixth title and first after 2008 in August. The tournament was held from August 7-16 in Bielsko-Biala, Poland. The title brought an end to Egypt’s dominance as they had hat-trick of titles by winning the last three editions. It was a surprising start for Pakistan when the top-seeds clashed and Israr Ahmad came out on top against Saadeldin Abouaish to win a closely-fought match 3-0 with scores of 11-9, 11-9 and 11-9. Israr had lost to Saaadeldin in the semifinal of World Junior Individual Championship. With the game evenly poised at 1-1, Abbas Shoukat defeated Marwan Tarek 3-1 in the decider to help Pakistan reclaim the crown after 2008. However, Egypt were able to draw parity with Youssef Ibrahim, piping AyazAhsan 3-1 in a 47-minute battle with overall scores of 13-11, 11-13, 11-5 and 11-6. It was Pakistan’s fifth title in the World Team Junior Squash Championships.

6: Pakistan clinch 15 medals in Ju-jitsu Beach Championship in Sri Lanka: Pakistan ju-jitsu team, putting up a brilliant show, won 15 medals in the Asian Beach Ju-Jitsu Championship held at Negombo Beach, Sri Lanka in August. The team, comprising five male and four female athletes, won one gold, five silver and nine bronze medals. More than 20 countries participated in the event, in which Australia was also permitted by the Ju-Jitsu Asian Union to participate.

7: Pakistan drop back to Group II in Davis Cup: In September, Pakistan lost their Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie to New Zealand 5-0 in New Zealand. Now they have to start all over again in the Davis Cup’s Group II of the Asia Oceania Zone in 2017. Captain Aqeel Khan and Abid Ali Akbar lost to Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in the crucial doubles rubber on the second day of the tie. Pakistan – who were without star player Aisamul Haq Qureshi – had already been dominated by New Zealand on day one when Akbar lost his singles match 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to Jose Statham and Finn Tearney outplayed Samir Iftikhar 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 in the second singles match. A win in the all-important doubles match would have given Pakistan a chance to push the tie to the last day, but that was not to be. Later Rubin Statham and Finn Tearney both won their dead-rubber singles matches in straight sets in Christchurch to blank the visitors. Besides ruing the fact that they had to play their home tie in New Zealand instead of Pakistan or at a neutral venue, Pakistan players admitted that the loss delivered a big blow to their confidence.

8: Pakistan win kabaddi gold at Asian Beach Games: Pakistan won a gold medal at the 2016 Asian Beach Games as the kabbadi team defeated arch-rivals India 30-28 in a close match to clinch the men’s event in Danang, Vietnam in September, marking a major blow to India right before the Kabaddi World Cup. Pakistan led the first half 16-11 before India took 17 points to Pakistan’s 14 in the second half, but Pakistan held on in the end. “It was an amazing victory for us, and we were confident of our performance; we really dominated the match,” Pakistan captain Nasir Ali told media, in the midst of celebrating with the team in Vietnam. “We had a strong first half, and India couldn’t catch us.” Pakistan didn’t have happy memories of the final, having lost the last two editions to finish as the runners-up in 2012 and 2014 but finally managed to get their hands on the gold.

9: PJJF sacks coaches, players for below par performance in Vietnam: The management of the Pakistan Ju-Jitsu Federation (PJJF), while reviewing the performance of its national squad in the 5th Asian Beach Games in September, took a tough decision and sacked coaches and players whose performance was not up to the mark. Pakistan won two silver and five bronze medals at the 5th Asian Beach Games in Danang, Vietnam. PJJF president Khalil Ahmad Khan said that the national federation reviewed the performance of all individuals and gave personal hearings to all players and team coaches for knowing the reasons for not achieving the desired results including gold medals. “We wanted to start accountability in sports, which was never done before. And this decision was the first step towards accountability,” he maintained. The sacked coaches were Amir Mukhtar, Sabeena Saeed, Tariq Ali. The players who were shown the door were Ahmed Butt, Shazeb Nawaz, Rafique Ahmed, Muhammad Ammar, Abu Hurraira, Maryam Murtaza, Humaira Ashiq, Ambreen Masih, Beenish Khan, Khasaf Javed, Umer Mukhtar, Awais Ashiq Muhammad Shafique and others.

10: Pakistan’s Inam wins gold medal in wrestling: Pakistan wrestler Muhammad Inam won a gold medal in the 5th Asian Beach Games in Danang, Vietnam in September. He defeated an Iranian wrestler 3-0 in the 90kg weight category contest. “Winning gold medal out of 76 participants from the whole of Asia is an honor for me and my country,” a jubilant Inam said. “Listening to national anthem after winning gold for my country was a memorable moment of my life and I thank my countrymen, coaches who encouraged me a lot,” Inam added. It may be recalled that Inam also won two bronze medals in the freestyle 80kg event at the 4th Asian Beach Games held in Phuket, Thailand. Danang City of Vietnam hosted the Beach Games wherein a total of 2253 athletes from all across Asia took part in 171 events and 22 sports. The Beach Games opened on September 24 and concluded on October 3. It was the second time for Vietnam to host an Asia level multi-sports event, after Hanoi held the Asian Indoor Games in 2009 and Southeast Asian Games in 2003. However, this was the first time that an event was not being organised in Hanoi.

11: Pakistan clinch silver medal at Asian Champions Trophy Hockey in Malaysia: In October, India defeated defending champions Pakistan 3-2 in an exciting final of the Asian Champions Trophy at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in the Malaysian city of Kuantan. The first quarter ended goalless. In the second quarter, Rupinder Pal Singh converted a penalty corner into a goal to give India a 1-0 lead. Seven minutes later, Affan Yousuf scored another goal for India, taking the lead to 2-0. Pakistan staged a come back and reduced the gap to one when Aleem Bilal scored the first goal for Pakistan on a penalty corner in the 26th minute of the match. The third quarter saw an intense battle between the arch-rivals. Pakistan put up a good show and managed to draw par when Ali Shan netted a superb goal in the 38th minute to even the scores. However, India’s Nikkin Thimmaiah scored a field goal during the last quarter, helping his side to clinch the title from the defending champions. In the third-place match, hosts Malaysia claimed their fourth successive bronze medal in the Asian Champions Trophy event as they trounced South Korea 3-1 in the penalty shootout.

12: Waseem successfully defends WBC silver flyweight title in South Korea: WBC silver flyweight champion Waseem defeated Philippines’ Giemel Magramo in Seoul, South Korea in November to successfully defend his title. The Quetta-born boxer outplayed Magreamo in a tough 12-round fight and won by 3-0 unanimous decision. Magreamo was undefeated in his previous 17 bouts and previously held the WBC International flyweight belt. However, Waseem’s heroics put a dent in the Filipino’s record. Waseem had captured the silver title in July by defeating Jether Oliva in what was only his fourth professional bout.

13: Pakistan claim second position in Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey Tournament in Malaysia: With nothing to lose, Pakistan Under-21 colts put up a strong show against favourites Australia, who thrashed them 8-1 in round robin, before going down 3-1 in the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 Hockey Tournament, which concluded in Johor Bahru in Malaysia on November 5. The green-shirts surprised everyone when they went ahead in the seventh minute through the first penalty corner. Instead of Abu Bakr, Pakistan’s regular striker, also their top scorer in the event with four goals, it was Hassan Anwar who took it. His fast high flick on goal keeper’s left side was unstoppable. Australia replied in the similar manner within six minutes. Gerrard Frazer’s penalty corner conversion was almost a replica of Hassan Anwar’s effort. The pace of the game went up with score-line showing 1-1. Pakistan showed good temperament in defence and were fast to tackle Australian attacks. A melee in Pakistan circle resulted in Australia’s second penalty corner in 32nd minute. Goalkeeper Muneeb brilliantly palmed it away with an outstretched left arm. The score was locked at 1-1 at the end of the first half. The third quarter was dominated by the Aussies, who repeatedly entered Pakistan’s circle. Three more penalty corners came their way. A penalty corner hit struck Pakistan line stopper’s foot. The resultant penalty stroke was converted by Blake Govers and Australia were 2-1 ahead in the 47th minute. Pakistan’s sporadic attacks did create a few chances including their second penalty corner of the day but Australian deep defence managed to keep the lead intact. With just four minutes left, Blake Govers’ second goal off a penalty corner squeezed all hopes for Pakistani youngsters of making a late comeback. However, securing second place on the podium in the event should be considered a good performance from Pakistan, who had never finished above fourth place at any of the five previous editions of Sultan of Johor Cup. In the last two events, they ended at bottom-rock sixth position. Japan secured third position followed by England, Malaysia and New Zealand in fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively.

14: FIH halts Pakistan team’s participation in Junior Hockey World Cup in India: In December, the International Hockey Federation disallowed the Pakistan team to participate in Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2016, which was held in India from December 8 to 18, over the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s inability to meet the deadlines. The FIH invited the Malaysian junior men’s team to take part in the event, replacing Pakistan, even though the green shirts had officially qualified. The international body termed it the PHF’s fault as it failed to submit visa applications for Pakistan’s delegation before the official deadline and its inability to confirm the delegation’s accommodation venue before the deadline. On the other hand, the PHF termed the move ‘pre-planned’ and said, “Pakistan did not delay any schedule obligation and it was all India’s fault to not issue visa to Pakistan’s delegation before deadline. Our government had timely issued No Objection Certificates for players to take part in the tournament, but it was sad that Pakistan was not able to take part in the Junior Hockey World Cup,” the PHF added. The Pakistan government on November 19 had issued NOCs to the Pakistan junior team for taking part in the Junior World Hockey Cup. The PHF on November 16 had expressed reservations about India calling the shots in the world hockey and taking undue control to sideline Pakistan.

15: Pakistan win silver medal in netball after losing thrilling final in Malaysia: Pakistan won a silver medal in the First Asian Men’s Netball Championship 2016 in Malaysia in December. The final was played between Pakistan and hosts Malaysia and was held at Dewan Serbaguna Complex Kuarters, Kuala Lumpur. In the gripping finale Pakistan led the first quarter by 11-6 goals, however, by the end of the second quarter the score levelled up at 16 goals each as Malaysia rapidly caught on. The third quarter saw the Malaysian side lead by two goals as the score stood at 26-24. By the end of the match the score was equal by 31 goals. Two five minute slots of extra time were given to the teams and by the end of the second slot Malaysia stood at 35 goals, beating Pakistan by the margin of one goal. The match for the third place in the tournament was played between India and Brunei, India won the match by a whooping 38 goals as the final scoreboard stood at 61-26.

( The writer is Sports Editor at Daily Times. He can be reached at mali319@hotmail.com)