At least we did better than India: Pakistan coach
Pakistan edged out South Korea 3-2 to finish seventh in the hockey event of the London Olympics – an improvement on Beijing 2008 by one place – and coach Khawaja Junaid saw consolation in India’s misery who will be fighting for the 11th spot.
The win also brought Pakistan’s participation in the Olympics to an end after its shooting, swimming and athletics campaign ended at the first hurdle.
Meanwhile, in the hockey event, Pakistan beat Argentina and South Africa besides drawing against Spain. However, heavy losses against GB and Australia cost the team dearly and it failed to progress to the knockouts.
Coach happy with Asian domination
Meanwhile, while Pakistan coach Khwaja Junaid lamented the team’s failure to qualify for the semi-finals, he remained satisfied after it maintained its continental domination.
“At least we return as the best-ranked Asians,” Junaid told The Express Tribune from London. “Korea finished eighth, while India will be avoiding a bottom-place finish. This has proved our Asian supremacy which we gained with a gold medal at the Asian Games two year ago.”
Junaid was especially pleased after Pakistan finished ahead of traditional rivals India.
“There’s always a sort of competition against India and finishing ahead of them is a respite. We were going well before the match against GB. Australians were favourites but we had a chance of winning against Britain. But there are no excuses for the huge loss against Australia as the players totally failed against them.”
He added that the team deserved to play the fifth-sixth position match. However, he said he was satisfied with the team’s performance. “We did well and our future is bright in the game.” The Greenshirts are scheduled to return home on August 14.
Stage comeback against Korea
Meanwhile, in the classification match, Pakistan conceded two goals as South Koreans dominated the proceedings early in the first half.
However, the Greenshirts kept their cool and scored three successive goals to win the match. Mohammad Waqas reduced the lead before Abdul Haseem Khan equalised. Former captain Mohammad Imran then scored the decisive goal through a brilliant flick on a penalty-corner to seal the 3-2 win.
More Olympians join chorus of revamp
Back home, Olympians have lamented Pakistan’s seventh finish, calling for a complete overhaul in the team.
“We cannot progress under this set up,” said Shahnaz Sheikh. “This federation got enough time and now they should give other people a chance.”
Olympian Manzoor junior said major changes were required to improve Pakistan’s world rankings.
“Finishing seventh does not make much difference. We have not shown any improvement in four years. There should be a complete overhaul.”
New Zealand finish ninth
In another play-off, New Zealand beat Argentina 3-1 to finish ninth. South Africa and India will play the 11th-place play-off, while Spain and Belgium will compete for fifth place tomorrow.
DECISION
Abbas not to retire, says agent
Pakistan hockey captain Sohail Abbas will not be retiring anytime soon, confirmed his agent following the team’s seventh-place finish in the London Olympics.
Abbas, who was appointed captain for the Azlan Shah Cup and then the Olympics, proved to a major disappointment in London and currently stands at 348 goals, a world record. While Abbas vowed to carry on, Pakistan’s Waseem Ahmed confirmed his decision to retire with immediate effect.
Khwaja Junaid
“We were going well before the match against Great Britain. We had a chance of beating them as well. But there are no excuses for the loss against Australia. There’s always a sort of competition against India and finishing ahead of them is a respite. We did well and our future is bright.”
Shahnaz Sheikh
“We cannot progress under the current PHF set up. This federation has gotten enough time to improve Pakistan hockey and they’ve failed to do so. It is time that they step down and other competent people be given a chance so that the country can regain its lost glory.”
Islahuddin
“Pakistan only won two matches in their group games and these victories came against lower-ranked competitors — Argentina and South Africa. We failed to perform against major teams – Great Britain and Australia – and that showed there’s no progress.”
Samiullah
“This team finished eighth in Beijing and it finished seventh in London. It’s time for the team management to step down. A team, under a new set up, should be prepared for the 2014 World Cup and Asian Games. Seniors should be honoured for their achievements and then be shown the door.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2012.
COMMENTS (64)
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@James:
I don't personally know, nor have I ever heard of, a single Pakistani pretending to be a Hindustani, in the US or anywhere else.
But while we're on the subject, maybe you can explain why Hindustanis like you, and all your other call centre buddies, insist on giving yourselves English names like James.
Hasan
India won 6 medals in Olympic 2012 what about you ...i four events India won 6 medals ..it should be 10 or 12 buts our 5 to 6 champions are in 4th position and disqualified in quarterfinal... Indian 4 boxers were in quarterfinal...two shooters in 4 th and 7 th position ...6 shooters qulified for final...2 wrestlers won medals...silver and bronze...where r you change mindset....
We will never improve if we compare ourselves with India. We should be comparing ourselves with team like Australia, Netherlands and Germany who seem to be way ahead of us.
@Hasan: Then why were Pakistanis in the US claiming to be Indians after 9/11
pathetic.
@Razak:
Most countries in the world find it insulting to be compared to Hindustan, and Pakistan is no exception. You're bragging about a handful of unremarkable medals after the massive amounts of funding that your country has put into the Olympics, and the only real attention Hindustan got during these past two weeks was when a random member of public came on and ruined your opening procession - what an amazing achievement!
Nothing makes me laugh like angry Hindstanis...
Hasan
hey guys India wob its sixth medal today.. but i guess we are still better.. Pakistan zindabaad..Pakistani khiladi paindabaad
Yes, at least we did better than a team that finished last.
Zindabad Beta! No matter how low the bar is set, national psyche dictates that Pakistanis must crawl underneath it.
@Hasan:
India won their 6th Medal today. They doubled their medals tally from 3 to 6 from last Olympics and you find it insulting being compared to India? It should be India feeling insulted being compared to Pakistan in sports !
At least afghanistan did better then pakistan with one medal. :)
Pathetic response - it would have been better if we accept some criticism for a bad performance and attempt to do better in the future - but like our politicians our coaches only play the blame game. I am surprised RAW and CIA have not been blamed yet! - very sad failure and an even worse excuse by our coach
We the 4 TIMES WORLD CHAMPS are comparing us to INDIANS. COME ON COACH.
@Indians, don't take our coach serious and start smiling.
Somebody tell him India has Won 5 medals and Pakistan has none .
It's a sad commentary on Pakistani psyche that they find consolation in India's misery rather than their own achievements. You could have stayed at home, see India lose on TV and have that consolation and save your govt some money that they spent in sending you there to compete.
such a lame excuse, we want to get out of this frame of mind if we want to win a medal
Congratulations to Afghanistan for winning a bronze.
Pakistan doing poorly at the Olympics is not a reflection on the athletes it's is a very SAD commentary about a nation where the people with its Goverment show very little support to games other than cricket & sometimes hockey. Pakistans priority is not athletically inclined, instead of supporting the sport the religious brigade is obsessed with clothing worn by women athletes. Look at the curriculum at the schools & universities the athletic departments are poorly funded maybe if our citizens were involved in more sports it could help the morale of our youth.
Pakistani polticians government sevent bussinessmen NGOss students could do more then india in the feild of corruption. They could not do any single work without corruption. Pakistani can never thing any good thought. It is also suprising that french government awarded sentance but pakistani court acquited pakistani official in the same kickback case. Therefore I can say pakistan have better position in fraud corrution. Saad Shibli
Is that something to be proud of? Indians are not the finest specimen of humanity.
this statement is completely pathetic, we did better than India. India is still on 37th position in Olympics check yahoo for it whats the performance of Pakistan a BIG DUCK zero. its way in the bottom 81th position. Iran have done better than as well. results matter at the end you give 1000 % efficient and effective performance but when you lose and do not get reward, trophy or cup nothing matters than WIN or LOSE these are two things in game. when you win it that is the history made. performance of the people is never on population america have comparatively lesser population compared with China, Pakistan and India. so this excuse is outdated. a lot countries much lesser populated than Pakistan but our nation still with no result in anything.
why he is comparing to india,..
A lot of angry Hindustanis commenting...clearly the coach made a good a point.
I have to agree though, comparing ourselves to Hindustanis is usually just an insult to ourselves.
Hasan
This clearly shows how much Pakistanis are India concentrated.
For such mentality, the coach needs to be fired and banned from holding any post in future in Pakistan.
shame on ET, no where did he say "atleast we did better then india"?
There should be three further medal categories Atleast we did: Better than Israel (Gold) Better than USA (Silver) Better than India (Bronze)
This will surely make half the world happy.
At least we did better than India.
Just for that comment, I would fire the coach. You should never compare yourself to a lower ranked team. Its a recipe for disaster as there is no hope or hunger for improvement. I hope Indians are not saying the same for a lower ranked team.
Looser Coach!!!!
That's a pathetic cop-out to compare Pakistan's performance with India. We had gone to the Olympics to compare our performance with the rest of the world not just India or other Asian teams. A comparison with India is so irrelevant as to defy belief. The entire team management and the PHF structure should be called to question and heads should roll.
In fact the entire Sports establishment has a lot to answer for. We have not produced a single medal since 1992 when the country collectively won a bronze medal in Hockey. Before that in 1988 we had received a bronze medal in Boxing and in 1984 a gold medal in Hockey. But since 1992 - 20 years - Pakistan has failed to register on the Olympic stage. It is not for lack of talent or resources. Its time for some serious soul-searching and re-evaluation. The rot in the system has to be purged.
Pakistani hockey coach can be pardoned for the dismal performance of our hockey team but he should be sacked for saying that we did better than india.
Atleast we did better than India Thats what we went there for It is a platinum medalBlame the coach all you want. But he is only saying what is prevailing mindset in Pakistan vis-a-vis India. Why single him out?
@Rameez: I don't know if you are an Indian or a Pakistani bro... But its pleasantly surprising to read something positive for India from a Pakistani.... But with a billion plus population, 4-5 medals is pathetic....... No excuses whatsoever... It shows the poor kind of stress, focus and training facilities the Indian Govt provides for its representatives to an international event... We can't compare to China but.. I have heard from people that even if there is an athlete who does not want to participate but has been known to have the potential to win a medal, he/she is forced to take part or face consequences from the communist leaders for the nation's 'pride'... Which means your personal human rights are down the drain which is ironically against the Olympics spirit of humanity....
very well done... award a medal for yourself and hang it around your neck till next olympic
pakistanis say... indians are obsessed with their news website... i say half of op-eds or news are related india or mention india at least once... ha ha ha
What a stupid statement?
@Indian:
4-5 medals for India is still good ..dont say population of billion plus as the Indian economy is progressing so is their medal count ..China ..no. one county on medal list at present won its first medal only in 1984 but as their economy progressed so its medal counts has increased ..same is happening with India ..u can track their medal counts ..they are increasing at every olmpics ..irrespective of Hockey team's perfornance
Dear Coach, its not just the players who failed to perform you did too. Time to own up!!! Guess that's too much to ask for. And yeah what a pathetic justification for.
Congrats for doing better than India in hockey..Its your gold medal...but wait..India got 4 medals as well what about that???
Same Phobia running on our minds for past 65 years; Grow Up Guys!
Coach " However, he said he was satisfied with the team’s performance". He should compare Pakistan team with the better teams and not the worst teams.
Those who learn from previous mistakes make progress but who do not are wiped out and will be kept out by mighty ones.
Regards Dr. Saleem Siddiqi
Congratulations!!
That's it! Always competing with India...
What about the fact that India has won three medals in this Olympics and none of the Pakistani athletes or teams even qualified for the finals in any sport?
See this is what I had in a earlier comment. Pakistan finishing before India is in itself a gold medal
Strange that we find Indians jumping onto a Pakistani news site complaining how obsessed Pakistanis are with India. In any case its pathetic he is content with our team performing better than India as if its a big deal. India is sorry excuse for a hockey team despite their premier league and blah!
At least we did better than India: Pakistan coach
A very shameful statement by the coach. I am thankful to the coach for NOT predicting that next Azlan Shah Tournament , Pakistan will win and next Olympics Hockey Gold Medal!!!!
Yes.. just at least.. i think he needs a medal for that.
Why you did'nt compare with India when Pakistan finishes last in World Cup Hockey. Performance of Pakistan was not too bad (except heavy defeat againt Australia) but comparing performance with India is really pathetic.
Now this what we call profound Pakistani wisdom!!!!!!
why did he have to say this? why?
Why compare with India when we should try to compare with power houses like Oz and Germany. Measuring against India isn't much of a measuring stick!
What a pathetic explanation and reason to justify our performance. Why is India the end of the world for us. Our people should realize that these people hide their mistakes and corruption by taking the name of India. Yes their performance was dismal but we should look at our own failures rather than others. This person should be kicked out for such irresponsible comments.
Very shameful
This is a sick mentality....... Thats all... An international event in which a population of over a billion barely managed 4-5 medals so far and the other one with none at all with 18 population and this is what a 'Coach' is saying!!
haha looser menatlity
If this is all what you were asked to achieve....Shame on u
wow what an achievement!!!.....your shoe-medal is ready for you!!....come get it...
He is right .. :D
Until we have this mindset of atleast doing better than India or comparing victory over India as our gold medal, we will NEVER progress! pathetic mindset, we need a change in the people who run sports in this country.
Hmm.. I didn't hear Indian Cricket Team coach say anything about Pakistan when we kicked them out of Cricket World Cup '11. Oh well, I guess they cant stop comparing themselves with India, be it Sports or Military, but never Economy.