Crowd behaviour not an excuse for failure: PHF

PHF says abusive crowd behaviour at Commonwealth Games not an excuse, meant to convey hardships faced in New Delhi.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said that the claim of abusive crowd behaviour in New Delhi made by captain Zeeshan Ashraf was not an excuse for the failure at the Commonwealth Games but was just meant to convey the hardships faced by the team during the event.

Ashraf and the PHF had earlier claimed the crowd was abusive towards the Pakistan team, which affected players’ performance in the event and especially during the crunch match against the hosts that the Greenshirts lost 7-4.

Former and current Indian players reacted strongly to the remark, terming it as a “lame excuse for Pakistan’s failure” in the Games.

“This is a ridiculous excuse. If they were facing such problems then why did they keep mum after the World Cup [staged in New Delhi earlier this year]? During the Games they were praising Indian hospitality and now they are blaming our crowd. It’s their old habit,” said Indian captain Rajpal Singh while reacting to the statements.

Indian coach Harendra Singh was also surprised with the remarks saying it was unfortunate that Pakistan came up with such an excuse.

“I was there in the stadium during the Pakistan-Australia match and the one they played against Malaysia. The crowd was cheering for the Pakistan team,” said Harendra.

Bajwa, however, said he just echoed the feedback he got from the players after the event.

“This is not an excuse. Nor should we make one for the defeat. We just conveyed what we heard from the players,” the PHF secretary told The Express Tribune. “It is not a big matter and should not be made an issue. We were just discussing the hardships our players faced.”

Meanwhile, Bajwa added that the PHF does not intend to make any complaint to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on crowd behaviour.

“It’s not an issue as the crowd can’t be controlled. We’re in very good ties with the Indian Hockey Federation and the matter will not affect our relationship.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2010.