LAHORE:

Since the establishment of the FIH Awards, the International Hockey Federation has nominated several Pakistani players in the last 25 years. These include megastars like Sohail Abbas, the scorer of the highest number of international goals; Salman Akbar, one of the finest goalkeepers of his time; Shakeel Abbasi, a mercurial forward; and outstanding midfielder Waseem Ahmed, among others.

This year, among the 30 nominations in all the categories, there was only one Pakistani, Sufyan Khan who was nominated for the Rising Star of the Year (male) award. The 22-year-old went on to win the award, making him the first Pakistani player to win the FIH award in any category.

Sufyan’s final score was nearly double that of the runner-up. He was an overwhelming choice of the two ‘technical’ categories of electors, Experts and National Associations.

The defender, also a prolific scorer on drag flicks, is the vice-captain of the Pakistan team for the Junior Asia Cup held in Oman.

This year's award ceremony held in Muscat, Oman also marked the centenary of the formation of the FIH and had 140 member countries participating.

The nominations were announced in mid-September. “I was delighted but not surprised as my performance throughout the year had been quite good,” said Sufyan.

But soon it turned into a surreal surprise indeed.

“When I was told to proceed to Oman a day before the award ceremony, I assumed all the nominees would be there. In Oman, I realised that only the winners had been invited,” shared the youngster. “It gave me goosebumps and I barely slept that night.”

“The award ceremony was held in a beautiful seaside hotel. The presence of over 300 delegates from 120+ National Associations and FIH partners made me a bit nervous,” he said.

However, among the overwhelming crowd was Sufyan's idol: Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh – also a defender, and a drag-flicker. “I have learnt a lot watching the videos of Harmanpreet – especially that of his drag flicks,” he said. Harmanpreet was there to receive his third Player of the Year award.

“It was fascinating to meet him and we had a long chat,” Sufyan said. “Harmanpreet congratulated me and expressed his happiness to see a Pakistani winning the award. He said, ‘We want Pakistan to be back in international hockey’s mainstream. It is the desire of the entire hockey world as Pakistan has had such a great legacy. I wish to play at Lahore’s National Hockey Stadium’”.

In the footsteps of legends

Sufyan was born in Bannu – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s biggest hockey nursery since the era of British rule. The town has produced many hockey stars, including legendary Brigadier Abdul Hameed. Better known as Hameedi, he was the team’s captain when Pakistan won its first Olympic gold in 1960. When Pakistan won its second Olympic gold in 1968, Hameedi’s brother Abdul Rasheed Junior was Pakistan’s top scorer. Rasheed, an outstanding centre-forward, with 96 international goals, was also a member of the 1^st World Cup-winning team in 1971. Both captained Pakistan. So did Qazi Mohib, 1990 World Cup (silver medal).

“Bannu’s hockey environment meant I picked up the stick in my school,” said Sufyan. “Then I joined the city’s famous Bacha Khan Club where I was lucky to have Ihsanullah as my trainer.”

In 2019, Sufyan toured Uzbekistan with the Pakistan Boards Team. “This selection did a world of good for my confidence,” he shared. That is when he seriously considered pursuing hockey as a career.

Hometown to hockey school

It takes almost 10 hours on the road to reach Lahore from Bannu. Lahore is home to the country’s best hockey school Dar Hockey Academy.

“I had heard a lot about Lahore-based Dar Hockey Academy. A couple of Bannu boys had been there,” Sufiyan told The Express Tribune. Coach Ihsanullah also wished for Sufiyan to train there. Considering the distance from Bannu, Sufiyan’s parents were reluctant to send him to the academy. However, Ihsanullah prevailed upon them and Sufyan left for Lahore in 2020.

“Dar Hockey Academy provides an ideal atmosphere for a budding young player. Players from outside Lahore live in a hostel. Everything is free: boarding & lodging, high-quality playing gear and kit,” Sufyan told The Express Tribune.

An experienced coaching team led by World Cup winner Danish Kaleem coached the players on the synthetic turf of the National Hockey Stadium. They also played matches against strong local sides as well as those from outside Lahore. Likewise, the academy team visited other cities. “My all-round game improved a lot,” Sufyan said. “-Waqas Butt, a member of Dar Academy’s coaching team, put a lot of effort into my game.” Butt is presently working for the Qatar Hockey Federation.

 

Meteoric rise

Within two years of joining Dar Academy, Sufyan became a sought-after player.

“In February 2022, the Pakistan Navy contacted me to play for them. Soon, I was called to the Pakistan national team’s camp for the Commonwealth Games. And in November, my childhood dream was fulfilled, selection for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.”

Sufyan made an immediate impact, top-scoring for his side with four penalty corner goals. Since then he has been an automatic selection for Pakistan’s national and age group teams. Major tournaments include the Asian Games, Junior World Cup, Olympic Qualifiers and FIH Nations Cup. He has been consistently scoring off penalty corners.

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 brought Sufyan into the limelight.

“There was double delight as Pakistan finished second at this event; the best position in the last 13 years, and I was declared Player of the Tournament,” said Sufyan. Upon returning home, he was overwhelmed by the appreciation and rewards bestowed on the team by the Prime Minister, COAS and the CM Punjab. In his hometown Bannu, he was greeted with a hero's welcome and was brought to the stadium in a procession.

The outstanding youngster has caught the attention overseas.

“I have had offers from clubs of the leading hockey nations – Holland, Germany, England and Australia. The national team remains my priority but I will take it whenever the window in the international calendar permits. Playing in competitive professional leagues of top hockey countries would be a great experience and benefit my game.”

All the past winners of the Rising Player of the Year, without any exception, blossomed into stars with some attaining legendary status. Hence, Sufyan now carries a burden of expectations.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Sufyan's meteoric rise is evidence that despite the national team’s miserable showing over the last 15 years, individual talent still abounds in Pakistan hockey.

Many call for the revival of departmental teams in Pakistan. The previous government (PTI) instructed the departments to scrap their sports wings. But most of the departments had already put an end to their sports teams. WAPDA, National Bank, SNGPL and SSGC were the only departments that still had sports teams with players either employed or on contract.

In this era of rightsizing which is also the demand of the IMF, a department can ill afford to employ twenty-odd people (as hockey players). Two Prime Ministers, Yousaf Raza Gillani in 2008 and Shahbaz Sharif in 2022, issued directives to various departments to revive sports teams. Nothing came out of either order.

The solution lies in a franchise-based league like cricket’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) which is very much feasible. The league will turn around the fortunes of Pakistan hockey. With the franchise owners looking for results, the best available talent from Pakistan and outside Pakistan would be selected. Top coaches would be hired.All this would generate a competitive and lucrative league. Pakistan's national team will get battle-hardened players ready to take the world’s top teams.

And Sufyan’s dream of winning medals with the Pakistan teams at the Olympics and World Cup could become a reality.

Ijaz Chaudhry is a freelance sports journalist based in Lahore and can be reached at ijaz62@hotmail.com

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the author