Mission ‘hockey bachao’ set to surface again
The Olympians, including Samiullah, Shahnaz Sheikh, Qamar Zia, Qamar Ibrahim and Salim Sherwani besides others, are on board to start campaign to remove the PHF officials after Pakistan finished seventh in the Olympics, a campaign that also included a 7-0 drubbing against Australia.
Pakistan, during the current PHF set-up headed by Qasim Zia having Asif Bajwa as secretary, finished eighth in Beijing Olympics 2008 besides a bottom-place finish in the World Cup that prompted former players to call for Bajwa’s removal from the post. While poor results at the Commonwealth Games and the last Azlan Shah Cup are among the other failures of the team during the period, the 2010 Asian Games gold medal was the only respite for the hockey team.
“We failed where it mattered,” Samiullah told The Express Tribune. “This PHF has failed to bring any improvement in over four years and now these officials must quit themselves. We can’t see any future planning by the PHF. This federation has even failed to form a proper back-up of youngsters.”
Samiullah said various Olympians have decided to launch a campaign to remove this set.
“We will be on a rescue hockey mission after Eid. As a first step, we will sit and prepare the campaign’s strategy that may include meeting dignitaries, including the prime minister, to plead our case. We may even launch a protest in order to save our national sport.”
Samiullah, however said the campaign which is aimed to save the national game from complete destruction will be run in a civilised manner.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2012.
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This administration should/might be changed but not because where we finished in Olympics and the world cup. That should not be the only yard stick to measure administration job, one good day could have easily put pakistan on top four or even medal podium. The root of the problem is lack of infrastructure and popularity of the sport in the country. PHF job should be to organize and promote sport at the grass root level, and play a leader's role in bringing together all concerned parties (local organization, sports industry and sponsors), so that more and more people can participate and enjoy. At highest level we should have a proper profeessonal league (even at modest level). Once we do these things we are sure to find world class talent in abundance. Just trying to get medals at the international events out of thin air is not a good and sustainable objective I am afraid, we will have more failures in it then success.
We are with you, Asif Bajwa is a corrupt man ruling Pakistan hockey for like last 10 year, hockey is our national game and there is lot of talent and surely we can do lot better than what we did in Olympics and world cup. Management should be changed and our Olympic hero's should work in PHF to improve it.
I'm not trying to degrade someone.But the olympians and hockey greats related to PHF are harping on the note that,"All is well".Things need improvements and they'll be able to do it if given the required amount of time and money.
The olympians sitting idle outside are stating that the things are grim as usual.And PHF has collapsed.Hockey is dead.That's the usual tone.
Question is what did they do when they were a part of PHF? They should cite some examples as reference ,they thing that they did which actually revolutionized the system and improved hockey in Pakistan on the whole.
Well if the senior players are really and seriously interested in saving hockey, they all should resign. All the senior hockey players have grown old and they can't even run. All other teams are younger with greater stamina and power. This is the case in every field in Pakistan, one who arrives at the apex of any system, thinks that he is the only one superman produced by the system and system can't produce any one like him in future. So better get rid of the existing players, except for few exceptional ones. The game requires greater energy and one cannot just keep on playing this forever. Every one has to retire!
all it took what that one defeat with a big margin (7-0)...otherwise all was good....or at-least not that bad...:)... we Pakistanis are "growing" to be more short-sighted day by day....