Azlan Shah Cup trials : Places up for grabs but only 35 show up

Selection committee and falling interest in hockey blamed.

KARACHI: The first phase of open trials for the selection of the 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup were a major letdown as only 35 players showed up at the Hockey Club of Pakistan on Tuesday.

With thousands of registered players in Sindh and adjoining Balochistan, a decent turnout at the very least was expected, but instead seven participants from interior Sindh, 10 from Balochistan and 18 from Karachi appeared.



The players’ lack of interest in the trials perhaps mirrored that of the selection committee as only two selectors — Waseem Feroz and Farhat Khan — were at hand to observe the measly attendance, with the chairman of selection committee Olympian Rasheed Junior, Qasim Khan and Saeed Khan being notable absentees.

A player at the trials linked the low turnout with the absence of key selection committee members, although coach Hanif Khan — who attended the camp with Shahbaz Ahmed Senior — blamed it on the general decline in popularity of hockey.



“The number of players shows how much hockey has declined in the two provinces, which were earlier known as the hub of hockey,” Hanif told to The Express Tribune. “The clubs and association are also not working hard for the revival.”

A former player added that this number is enough to open the eyes of the management. “They will have to work really hard as there is no hockey at grass-roots level. Only few clubs are working and their players don’t have any interest in trials as they know they won’t be selected due to the internal lobby,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd,  2016.

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