If you are a sports maniac from Pakistan and have lived a part of your life in 1990s, you could not long for a better sporting period than it. For sports addicts, it was the best generation to live in. On 4th December 1994 in Sydney, when Mansoor Ahmad dropped steeply to his right to block the push of Penalty Stroke by a Dutch [Jeroen Delmee], not only did Pakistan become World Champion of Hockey for the fourth time but also that they were now World Champions of 4 different sports at the same time – The Cornered Tigers had lifted the crystal trophy in Melbourne 1992, Mohammad Yousuf had pipped an Icelandic [Johnannes R. Johanesson] in Johannesburg 1994, Jansher Khan had a way with Peter Marshall in Barcelona 1994. Cricket, Snooker, Squash and now they were Champions of their national game, Hockey. 1994 could be termed as Pakistan’s annus mirabilis.
You could feel for me as I wasn’t into any of the sports in first half of the nineties. It was not until 1996 that I had formed an acquaintance with some sport. From the word go, Cricket it was. They had decorated Lahore and its roads as lovely as a bride. Every road connected to Gaddafi Stadium was donned with buntings and flags. Cricket craze was bursting at the seams so much so that it was everyday talk in schools, offices, bus terminuses, dinner tables and et al. You could be forgiven for not having the NIC in wallet, but not for the pamphlet of World Cup fixtures. A Cricket World Cup Final in Pakistan was in the offing, for the very first time. It was then I, a school kid, lost his heart, soul too, to Cricket.
The acquaintance to Hockey was akin to Cricket. It didn’t form until Pakistan hosted a World event of her national game. The World Cup of Hockey was played in mid-1998 in Utrecht but it failed to attract most of the new generation, perhaps because Pakistan despite being defending champions failed to put a decent show. Just when it occurred that Hockey would fade away, there came November 1998 and Hockey dropped pennies for us [Pakistan’s new generation] as this time they were hosting five international teams for the 20th edition of Hockey Champions Trophy, once again, like Cricket World Cup, Lahore was the venue. But still Hockey would struggle to match the market of Cricket.
Of all the Pakistan sports, Hockey has suffered the most, due to various reasons; team’s poor show, lack of stars and security issues to mention a few. After 2000, Hockey started diminishing. Gone were the times where the victories were monotonous. They were now forlorn, to this extent that they came as rare as the topping of the pizzas come during Iftar dinner deals.
Now that the team is putting some show in London Olympics 2012. The interest, as seen on Social Media, somehow is back however Pakistan Hockey is still a country mile away from what it was in 70s, 80s and early 90s. It doesn’t need an effort to convince someone that they portray picture of West Indies Cricket, so dominating and conquering in retrospect and then seem to have sunk without trace. Their players attracted by lure of Indian domestic leagues – IPL and World Hockey Series – add more to this impression.
Coming back to 1998, team still had the likes of Shahbaz Ahmad alias Senior, Kamran Ashraf, Tahir Zaman, Mansoor Ahmad, but the crux of team was a new comer, who made his international debut the same year (1998), Sohail Abbas. Those blazing and tracer bullet drag-flicks had earned Abbas reputation of a Penalty Corner hotshot. Many goal-keepers and perished to his prowess. At speed which he was converting those corners into goals, many records were there for the taking, and took he those. He would later (in 2004) go on to become World’s highest goal scorer.
The speed which was often talked about was not of Shoaib Akhtar but of Abbas’ drag-flicks. Of Akhtar, he was yet to announce himself fully, though he had made his debut by then but that famous Yorker to Sachin Tendulkar was still three months away and speed guns on Cricket grounds were not much mundane.
Abbas added a new flair and flamboyance in Pakistan sports to such a degree that even those who were not much into Hockey were compelled to reach National Hockey Stadium in Lahore as Pakistan marched into Final of Champions Trophy 1998 to face Netherland. It was first time ever I watched Pakistan, in any sport, playing in the stadium. Pakistan lost it by 1-3 but the crowded stadium vindicated the interest in Hockey. The final was played the same day when 500KM North to Lahore, Australia was playing second Cricket ODI at Peshawar, a series which has turned out be last by Australia on Pakistan soil in 14 years now. But the priority of the day was Hockey, not Cricket.
It takes no exaggeration in putting notion that for a good part of 1990s, Hockey in Pakistan was followed by same exuberance as was followed Cricket. The crowd, having the world and his wife, in this video from Final of Champions Trophy 1994 in Lahore, could demonstrate this notion. It also remains the last time when Pakistan won Champions Trophy, an event whose inception is accounted for themselves as late Nur Khan founded it in 1978 and now, untowardly, Pakistan have not won it in last 18 years.
Right after Champions Trophy 1998, Pakistan played in Bangkok Asian Games 1998 and finished third getting a bronze medal. The interest in Hockey would not dwindle as very next month and year, in January 1999, Pakistan hosted India for four-match series and then toured India in February for same number of matches. It was time when Pakistan’s both Cricket and Hockey teams were in India for bilateral series of their respective games.
Cricket and Hockey came in this close-fitting that couple of days before Pakistan was set to face India in second Cricket Test, their Hockey teams had a showdown in the same city [New Delhi]. But who knew then that just three months from there, in May 1999, both the countries will also lock horns at Kargil War and their sporting relations will be deteriorated.
In June 1999, 21st Hockey Champions Trophy was going along with Cricket World Cup so much so that the last day of both the events was same, June 20. It saw Australia winning both the events, Cricket World up at Lord’s and Champions Trophy Final at Brisbane – later in the year, Australia won the Rugby World Cup as well. As for Pakistan, they got mauled by the Kangaroos at Lord’s and finished last, at sixth after losing to England, in Brisbane, resulting their elimination from next edition of Champions Trophy from the very first time in their history. Hockey came at its lowest ebb.
Next year, in Sydney 2000 Olympics, Pakistan Hockey Team reached Semi Final but failed to grasp any medal. Since 1994, Sydney Olympics remain the only event, including World Cups and Olympics, when Pakistan reached at least a Semi Final. Hockey was quite for couple of years then. In 2002, Pakistan participated in World Cup 2002 in Kuala Lampur, only to finish at fifth in the event though their spearhead Shoail Abbas ended up being top-scorer (10 goals) of the event.
Later in 2002, when Pakistan played and won a play-off of Bronze Medal against India in Champions Trophy in Cologne it gave fans some respite. The match will be remembered for arrival of Rehan Butt, how cunningly he converted a long pass into a match-winning goal. In next edition of CT in Amstelveen 2003, once more Pakistan and India had a third-position play-off. In a group game, India had routed Pakistan by scoring whopping 7 goals, thanks to astute work of Dhanraj Pillay. But the play-off was reminiscent of the previous year – Pakistan won it with Rehan Butt again proving out to be India’s scourge just 2 minutes before the end of game.
It did not end there. Very next year, Pakistan completed hat-trick of Bronze Medals in Champions Trophy and beating India in the Play-offs. This time they did it in front of their home as Lahore was hosting it in 2004. Since then, Pakistan have not hosted any such event, nor have they won any medal – the consistent run of Bronze Medals turned out to be a false dawn. They were set to host it again in 2007, but it was moved to Malaysia due to security concerns.
The December 2004 edition was followed in Pakistan with sheer gung ho. The turnouts in stadium were good, if not dandy. One reason of sudden interest was that Sohail Abbas, after becoming leading goal scorer in Hockey, had announced to retire after CT 2004. I personally watched 5 out of Pakistan’s six matches in stadium, only missing one against Spain as it clashed with my school timings. A mere month before CT 2004, Pakistan and India played 8-match (four each in the each country) bilateral series where Sohail Abbas, in Match 7 at Amritsar, surpassed tally of 267 Goals by Paul Litjens to become leading goal-scorer in history of Hockey.
The mid-2000 was last when Pakistan in some measure was considered a competitive team. In recent years they have even failed to make into the Champions Trophies, let alone taking the rostrum. They have not won any medal in Olympics since Barcelona 1992, have not won reached a Semi Final of World Cup since Sydney 1994.
It takes goose bumps in knowing that a team which had won World Cup four times got the wooden spoon, finished at twelfth, in last World Cup in New Delhi 2010. A team which had won three Olympics Gold Medals finished 8th and 5th in last two Olympics, Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 respectively. Only team to win World Cup and Champions Trophy twice in the same year, in 1978 & 1994, missed three of the last 4 editions of the Champions Trophies. A team which has World’s largest Hockey Stadium [in Lahore] is now facing a drought. Only team to have its player getting Player of the tournament award in successive World Cups – Shahbaz Ahmad in 1990 & 1994 - had its players facing possible bans recently. Even a most hard-nosed critic shall sympathise for them.
Now their current display of Hockey in Olympics 2012 has given fans a minor hope. As I write, they still have the chance to make to the final four after winning their next two games against South Africa and Australia. The critics have held their fires for a while. The ho-hum has disappeared too. If the support shown by fans on Social Media and Sohail Abbas making it to World Wide Twitter trends are any things to go by, it is not hard to realize that Hockey craze is still there. Fans still possess the exuberance and frisson of early 1990s.
It’s been until the cows come home that a Pakistan team or player of any sport has taken the rostrum for a medal in Olympics – last time in Barcelona 1992. The drought now is neatly stretched to 2 decades.
Pakistan won the Gold Medal in Asian Games 2010, they also earned a Silver in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2011 where they fought Final extremely hard against Australia, the current World Champions. Bearing in mind these two performances, you could expect Pakistan to give nation an Olympic medal after 20 years and few days before 65th Independence Day.
The time can be marvelous sometimes. Sports of Pakistan can have a glimpse of 1990s again. Pakistan at the moment is winner of Asia Cup of Cricket and of Hockey in Asian Games. If they are to go beyond Asia, sports provide them two opportunities in coming months, London Olympics and ICC World T20.
Written by Mazher Arshad, follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cricket_U
A short version of this piece was Published in Dawn News: http://dawn.com/2012/08/05/forgotten-glory-days-of-pakistan-hockey/
You could feel for me as I wasn’t into any of the sports in first half of the nineties. It was not until 1996 that I had formed an acquaintance with some sport. From the word go, Cricket it was. They had decorated Lahore and its roads as lovely as a bride. Every road connected to Gaddafi Stadium was donned with buntings and flags. Cricket craze was bursting at the seams so much so that it was everyday talk in schools, offices, bus terminuses, dinner tables and et al. You could be forgiven for not having the NIC in wallet, but not for the pamphlet of World Cup fixtures. A Cricket World Cup Final in Pakistan was in the offing, for the very first time. It was then I, a school kid, lost his heart, soul too, to Cricket.
The acquaintance to Hockey was akin to Cricket. It didn’t form until Pakistan hosted a World event of her national game. The World Cup of Hockey was played in mid-1998 in Utrecht but it failed to attract most of the new generation, perhaps because Pakistan despite being defending champions failed to put a decent show. Just when it occurred that Hockey would fade away, there came November 1998 and Hockey dropped pennies for us [Pakistan’s new generation] as this time they were hosting five international teams for the 20th edition of Hockey Champions Trophy, once again, like Cricket World Cup, Lahore was the venue. But still Hockey would struggle to match the market of Cricket.
Of all the Pakistan sports, Hockey has suffered the most, due to various reasons; team’s poor show, lack of stars and security issues to mention a few. After 2000, Hockey started diminishing. Gone were the times where the victories were monotonous. They were now forlorn, to this extent that they came as rare as the topping of the pizzas come during Iftar dinner deals.
Now that the team is putting some show in London Olympics 2012. The interest, as seen on Social Media, somehow is back however Pakistan Hockey is still a country mile away from what it was in 70s, 80s and early 90s. It doesn’t need an effort to convince someone that they portray picture of West Indies Cricket, so dominating and conquering in retrospect and then seem to have sunk without trace. Their players attracted by lure of Indian domestic leagues – IPL and World Hockey Series – add more to this impression.
Coming back to 1998, team still had the likes of Shahbaz Ahmad alias Senior, Kamran Ashraf, Tahir Zaman, Mansoor Ahmad, but the crux of team was a new comer, who made his international debut the same year (1998), Sohail Abbas. Those blazing and tracer bullet drag-flicks had earned Abbas reputation of a Penalty Corner hotshot. Many goal-keepers and perished to his prowess. At speed which he was converting those corners into goals, many records were there for the taking, and took he those. He would later (in 2004) go on to become World’s highest goal scorer.
 |
| Sohail Abbas added a new flair and flamboyance to Pakistan Hockey. Those blazing and tracer bullet drag-flicks earned him reputation of a Penalty Corner hotshot. Many goal-keepers perished to his prowess. At speed which he was converting those corners into goals, many records were there for the taking, and took he those. He currently holds world record for most goals (347) in Hockey. |
Abbas added a new flair and flamboyance in Pakistan sports to such a degree that even those who were not much into Hockey were compelled to reach National Hockey Stadium in Lahore as Pakistan marched into Final of Champions Trophy 1998 to face Netherland. It was first time ever I watched Pakistan, in any sport, playing in the stadium. Pakistan lost it by 1-3 but the crowded stadium vindicated the interest in Hockey. The final was played the same day when 500KM North to Lahore, Australia was playing second Cricket ODI at Peshawar, a series which has turned out be last by Australia on Pakistan soil in 14 years now. But the priority of the day was Hockey, not Cricket.
It takes no exaggeration in putting notion that for a good part of 1990s, Hockey in Pakistan was followed by same exuberance as was followed Cricket. The crowd, having the world and his wife, in this video from Final of Champions Trophy 1994 in Lahore, could demonstrate this notion. It also remains the last time when Pakistan won Champions Trophy, an event whose inception is accounted for themselves as late Nur Khan founded it in 1978 and now, untowardly, Pakistan have not won it in last 18 years.
Right after Champions Trophy 1998, Pakistan played in Bangkok Asian Games 1998 and finished third getting a bronze medal. The interest in Hockey would not dwindle as very next month and year, in January 1999, Pakistan hosted India for four-match series and then toured India in February for same number of matches. It was time when Pakistan’s both Cricket and Hockey teams were in India for bilateral series of their respective games.
Cricket and Hockey came in this close-fitting that couple of days before Pakistan was set to face India in second Cricket Test, their Hockey teams had a showdown in the same city [New Delhi]. But who knew then that just three months from there, in May 1999, both the countries will also lock horns at Kargil War and their sporting relations will be deteriorated.
In June 1999, 21st Hockey Champions Trophy was going along with Cricket World Cup so much so that the last day of both the events was same, June 20. It saw Australia winning both the events, Cricket World up at Lord’s and Champions Trophy Final at Brisbane – later in the year, Australia won the Rugby World Cup as well. As for Pakistan, they got mauled by the Kangaroos at Lord’s and finished last, at sixth after losing to England, in Brisbane, resulting their elimination from next edition of Champions Trophy from the very first time in their history. Hockey came at its lowest ebb.
Next year, in Sydney 2000 Olympics, Pakistan Hockey Team reached Semi Final but failed to grasp any medal. Since 1994, Sydney Olympics remain the only event, including World Cups and Olympics, when Pakistan reached at least a Semi Final. Hockey was quite for couple of years then. In 2002, Pakistan participated in World Cup 2002 in Kuala Lampur, only to finish at fifth in the event though their spearhead Shoail Abbas ended up being top-scorer (10 goals) of the event.
Later in 2002, when Pakistan played and won a play-off of Bronze Medal against India in Champions Trophy in Cologne it gave fans some respite. The match will be remembered for arrival of Rehan Butt, how cunningly he converted a long pass into a match-winning goal. In next edition of CT in Amstelveen 2003, once more Pakistan and India had a third-position play-off. In a group game, India had routed Pakistan by scoring whopping 7 goals, thanks to astute work of Dhanraj Pillay. But the play-off was reminiscent of the previous year – Pakistan won it with Rehan Butt again proving out to be India’s scourge just 2 minutes before the end of game.
It did not end there. Very next year, Pakistan completed hat-trick of Bronze Medals in Champions Trophy and beating India in the Play-offs. This time they did it in front of their home as Lahore was hosting it in 2004. Since then, Pakistan have not hosted any such event, nor have they won any medal – the consistent run of Bronze Medals turned out to be a false dawn. They were set to host it again in 2007, but it was moved to Malaysia due to security concerns.
The December 2004 edition was followed in Pakistan with sheer gung ho. The turnouts in stadium were good, if not dandy. One reason of sudden interest was that Sohail Abbas, after becoming leading goal scorer in Hockey, had announced to retire after CT 2004. I personally watched 5 out of Pakistan’s six matches in stadium, only missing one against Spain as it clashed with my school timings. A mere month before CT 2004, Pakistan and India played 8-match (four each in the each country) bilateral series where Sohail Abbas, in Match 7 at Amritsar, surpassed tally of 267 Goals by Paul Litjens to become leading goal-scorer in history of Hockey.
The mid-2000 was last when Pakistan in some measure was considered a competitive team. In recent years they have even failed to make into the Champions Trophies, let alone taking the rostrum. They have not won any medal in Olympics since Barcelona 1992, have not won reached a Semi Final of World Cup since Sydney 1994.
It takes goose bumps in knowing that a team which had won World Cup four times got the wooden spoon, finished at twelfth, in last World Cup in New Delhi 2010. A team which had won three Olympics Gold Medals finished 8th and 5th in last two Olympics, Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 respectively. Only team to win World Cup and Champions Trophy twice in the same year, in 1978 & 1994, missed three of the last 4 editions of the Champions Trophies. A team which has World’s largest Hockey Stadium [in Lahore] is now facing a drought. Only team to have its player getting Player of the tournament award in successive World Cups – Shahbaz Ahmad in 1990 & 1994 - had its players facing possible bans recently. Even a most hard-nosed critic shall sympathise for them.
Now their current display of Hockey in Olympics 2012 has given fans a minor hope. As I write, they still have the chance to make to the final four after winning their next two games against South Africa and Australia. The critics have held their fires for a while. The ho-hum has disappeared too. If the support shown by fans on Social Media and Sohail Abbas making it to World Wide Twitter trends are any things to go by, it is not hard to realize that Hockey craze is still there. Fans still possess the exuberance and frisson of early 1990s.
It’s been until the cows come home that a Pakistan team or player of any sport has taken the rostrum for a medal in Olympics – last time in Barcelona 1992. The drought now is neatly stretched to 2 decades.
Pakistan won the Gold Medal in Asian Games 2010, they also earned a Silver in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2011 where they fought Final extremely hard against Australia, the current World Champions. Bearing in mind these two performances, you could expect Pakistan to give nation an Olympic medal after 20 years and few days before 65th Independence Day.
The time can be marvelous sometimes. Sports of Pakistan can have a glimpse of 1990s again. Pakistan at the moment is winner of Asia Cup of Cricket and of Hockey in Asian Games. If they are to go beyond Asia, sports provide them two opportunities in coming months, London Olympics and ICC World T20.
Written by Mazher Arshad, follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cricket_U
A short version of this piece was Published in Dawn News: http://dawn.com/2012/08/05/forgotten-glory-days-of-pakistan-hockey/
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