‘Hockey ranking cannot improve without international exposure’

LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary General Olympian Asif Bajwa said on Friday that ranking cannot be improved without participating in international events, which requires resources.

“The annual budget for hockey in the neighbouring country is 100 times higher than ours,” he said in a media talk at Lahore Press Club.

He spoke at length about the factors behind the rise and fall of Pakistan hockey. Bajwa, part of the 1994 Sydney World Cup winning team, said that hockey is one of the Olympic amateur sports which are supported by governments across the world.

“We are three times Olympic champions, four times world champions as well as winners of the Asian Games and the Champions Trophy,” he said.

The PHF Secretary further said that hockey had always had government patronage during the time when Pakistan team was winning international awards. He further said that the non-participation of Pakistan in the Pro League made matters worse and Pakistan slid down from 13th to 17th in international rankings.

Bajwa further said that corona pandemic hindered the development of the national game as teams could not get international exposure.

The PHF Secretary said that things had started to get better. “Pakistan team is now participating in the Junior World Cup after eight years,” he said.

He said that senior and junior teams couldn’t play at international level for more than two and a half years. “PHF has been conducting training camps at the domestic level,” he said.

Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari and National Hockey Team Head Coach Olympian Khawaja Junaid were also present on the occasion.