Hockey qualification

Pakistan hockey has known grander days. Four World Cup titles. Three Olympic golds. A generation when the mere sight of green jerseys on an astroturf made opponents nervous. That legacy now feels distant — buried under decades of administrative rot, political appointments, funding scandals and the slow haemorrhage of talent toward more rewarding pursuits. Which is why Pakistan's 4-3 victory over Japan in Egypt, securing World Cup qualification after an eight-year absence, is a signal — fragile, but real — that something may be stirring again.

The context of this qualification cannot be separated from the chaos that preceded it. The humiliation in Australia — lost matches, administrative dysfunction, a captain banned for speaking the truth - triggered a crisis that finally forced the government's hand. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the appointment of Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani as ad hoc PHF president following a damaging PSB inquiry that held the federation responsible for administrative lapses and financial irregularities during the FIH Pro League tour.

Tariq Bugti was gone. A bureaucrat with a mandate for reform took his place. Then, within days, the same squad qualified for the World Cup. The symbolism is hard to ignore. Wani's early moves have been encouraging. He pledged that transparency and fairness would guide decisions under his tenure and announced democratic elections for new PHF leadership. More tellingly, he closed the federation's regional office in Islamabad to redirect funds toward player training and development.

These are the right priorities, but instincts alone do not rebuild a sport. Whether they survive the transition to a permanent elected leadership is the defining question. Pakistan hockey's structural problems run deep. Transparent fund management and an end to using sports federations as political parking lots are non-negotiable. These players have earned the World Cup qualification. Now give them a federation worthy of them.