It is for the first time in the epic history of Pakistan hockey that it failed to qualify for the Olympics after losing to Ireland 1-0 in the 5-8 position classification match of the Hockey World League in Antwerp, Belgium on Friday.
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It is for the first time that Pakistan Hockey team failed to reach the Olympics, reported Dunya News.
Reigning world champions Australia were given a real test by Ireland’s Green Machine before eventually running out winners in the quarter-final. He said: “We are in Rio”.
But they had to hold their nerve to secure a place in the 5th-6th play-off, and it was Alan Sothern who did the trick with a 46th minute penalty corner conversion. Second, winning the match against England would have grabbed them a ticket and smooth entry to the grand event of 2016 Olympics games. Pakistan had a disappointing tournament as they had a solitary win in first game against Poland and two 2-2 draws against arch-rivals India and France; Pakistan also faced a 6-1 humiliating defeat against mighty Australia. There were a lot of key performances in the team and we showed we can work hard when the games get tight.
The coach also stated the need for the Pakistan government and corporate sectors to come forward and help develop hockey infrastructure in the country adding their glory days in the sport were a thing of the past.
Sardar Singh said that even though there’s not much at stake for his team in this tournament, they are keen to take this opportunity to produce positive results ahead of the World League Finals. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chiefs were lamenting that they had no money to make that possible.
“We are preparing to form a hockey board just like Pakistan Cricket Board”, Pirzada said.
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Manzoor-ul-Hasan Senior, another Olympian, vented his anger over the team’s crash in Antwerp, saying it was time the PHF officials, who had been claiming themselves to be the “custodians” of modern hockey, should feel ashamed. Over the years, high-profile sports like cricket and hockey have attracted people who are there for the big salaries, perks, foreign trips etc. Gone are the days when competent administrators like Nur Khan would run sports in Pakistan.
