The finger can only be pointed at the players

For 59 minutes, the Greenshirts were surely subjected to a torment of abuse but they had the final laugh; they prevailed where it mattered, they were into the final, they conquered India, arch-rivals India, on their own turf. But instead of celebrating their win with grace, they decided to take their shirts off and indulge in unwarranted gestures at the crowd. It resulted in two players being banned for the final and while many will question the way IHF backtracked on its initial decision to take no further action, the bottom line is that the blame lies only at the feet of the Pakistan players or, to be more precise, at their fingers. It was they who left themselves susceptible to the consequences, had they shown a little more restraint and professionalism, none of this would have happened.

These are international players – young, yes; inexperienced, yes; but international players nonetheless – and it is not fitting for an international player to react to the abuse of the crowd, no matter what the sport may be. Yes, there have been cases where players have gotten away with it (Virat Kohli), but there have also been cases where they haven’t (Wayne Rooney).


Pakistan hockey was apologetic in the aftermath, but the damage had been done, and all the bouquets and conferences could not take it back.

The players were there not as individuals but as the Greenshirts, representing not themselves but the country, all 200 million of us. The adrenaline after the match, understandable as it is, should have been kept in check. It wasn’t, and in the end coach Shahnaz Sheikh was deprived of two players, including the current Asian player of the year.

The finger, of blame and otherwise, can only be pointed at the individuals that let down an entire nation by their actions off the field right after making them immensely proud of it.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th,  2014.