The Fall of the Mighty Pakistani Hockey Team

Knowing the fact that Hockey is Pakistan’s national game shouldn’t the government give them as much funds as they can and preserve the identity of the nation following the culture and tradition as well.  Despite whatever the sufferings Pakistan is going through Hockey should not be the one which comes under the wheel. Let’s not forget that it was Pakistan who bestowed the glorious trophy. Pakistan won its first world cup in 1971 by conquering Spain from 1-0, Akhtarul Isalm was the player who scored. Pakistan has had the honor of winning four world cups. Yes, that's right not one not two but four (1971 ,1978,1982 and 1994). Then what went down? Why is the team struggling? Do they lack talent? They lack support, they lack funds, they lack motivation, they lack attention, they lack strong incentives the list goes on and on. 

Pakistani player Shafaqat in action in a match against Malaysia

The government's concern regarding the direction of hockey has always been nonexistent. They would rarely increase the incomes of the players and the faculty as well. They lacked so much attention that even media would not cover them anymore. I being a student have always seen other sports being supported and asked them to take part in it valley ball, basketball , football, cricket, badminton even swimming but where is hockey? The national game of Pakistan.  Hockey used to be a street game as well just like cricket and football these days. This lack of attention and negligence is the reason why the team is not even able to qualify their championship and are eliminated as well. This is very excruciating for the players from the history. 2014 was one of the most devastating year for Pakistan where they could not even qualify for the tournament. In 2018 Pakistan had no proper support still they qualified for the world cup . They received sponsors from Javed Afridi, the owner of the team Peshawar Zalmi. Touqeer Dar,  the former coach of the Pakistan hockey team once told that he has been requesting for funds by the government. In my opinion, people who are proving detrimental for the development of hockey should be held responsible for wasting time and compensate the team had for what they had to go through. Pakistan is the epitome of fine and passionate players in every field all they need is just a little support not only financially but morally as well. People with strong incentives and a clear focused vision should be incorporated to take the team further.