Akhtar departure cheers up former Olympians

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey chief Akhtar Rasool resigned on Thursday over the national team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics — the first time for the country.
It had been speculated for past many days that he would resign as he had failed to give satisfactory reasons to the government for the failure of Pakistan in the qualifying round of Rio Olympics.
Pakistan, who won Olympic gold medal in the sport three times and the World Cup four times, finished eighth in the qualifying round in Belgium in July, thus failing to qualify for Rio Olympics.
“I have resigned from the post in the best interest of the country and for the sake of our national sport,” Rasool, who led Pakistan to victory in the 1982 World Cup in India, said at a press conference in Islamabad. IPC ministry secretary Ijaz Chaudhary was also present on the occasion.
Rasool has been replaced by Khalid Khokhar, a former manager of the national team.
Sources said Akhtar had been under pressure because the PM, the patron in chief of PHF, wanted to remove him.
Khokhar said he would try to resurrect the sport in Pakistan. “It’s a great honour to lead Pakistan hockey and I will do my best to complete the task given to me,” said Khokhar, regarded as an ally of the ruling party of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Khokhar has close relations to federal minister Ehsan Iqbal. Pakistan’s hockey has seen a serious slump since they won the 1994 world title in Australia.
Pakistan finished last in the World Cup held in India in 2010 and failed to qualify for the 2014 edition.
Former Olympians, hailing the resignation of Akhtar, said that he should have resigned the day when Pakistan failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
Olympian Ayaz Mehmood said that it was the right decision of the government. “Now there is need for corrective measures and new president Khalid Khokhar will have to see who can play vital role to uplift the national game as there are a lot of people waiting to capture seats in the PHF set up for their own interests,” said Ayaz, who had resigned from the national selection committee when he was not invited for the selection of the national team.
Olympian Naveed Alam also applauded the government’s decision and said that he had been pointing out “their wrongdoings which have demolished the national game in the country and resulted in ouster of Pakistan from World Cup and Olympics”.
Alam congratulated the hockey fraternity on the resignation of PHF president and said that it was a good news that hockey had got freedom from the “Qabza” group.
He hoped that soon the remaining PHF officials would also be terminated if they did not resign themselves.
Sources said that Olympian Shahbaz Senior was likely to get an important position in the PHF such as secretary. The new president is expected to take charge formally on Monday or Tuesday.