Hockey in the casket

Can anyone imagine a modern-day football World Cup in which there is no Brazil, Argentina or Germany? This is unthinkable. In the same way, it was once difficult to imagine a hockey world cup without Pakistan. Unfortunately, what happened last year is the exact opposite of what we could have never imagined. The national team of Pakistan even failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Although Pakistan has the most number of World Cup trophies, the last time it won the tournament was in 1994. The popularity of the game has already diminished from schools and colleges. Hockey also failed to get the kind of the media and corporate attention that cricket has. Whatever little that was done for the revival of the game was not enough to bring more players to the game.

Hockey could very easily fade away from Pakistan – and it has. But it is still officially Pakistan’s national sport, even though it has been practically forgotten amid the cricket frenzy that has gripped our youth. As a result, there is neither sound knowledge nor sufficient interest in the sport. Most young Pakistanis today know the names of European football players. But the names of Pakistani hockey players have been consigned to distant memory. The sport, which once elicited passion and became the honoured expression of a resilient nation, has been allowed to wither away.

Shah Usama

Karachi