Pakistan Hockey Keeps Deteriorating
Pakistan hockey has endured another setback and this time the pang has come from hosts Malaysia in the 3rd Men’s Indoor Hockey Tournament being held at Stadium Indera Mulia in the city of Ipoh.
Pakistan took a heavy drubbing from the hosts in the six-nation hockey tournament when the Malaysians scored 8 goals past the green shirts. All the Malaysian goals came from two players. Chuah Boon Huat opened the scoring for the hosts with a strike in the 2nd minute of the game. Malaysia soon doubled the lead in the 8th minute through their captain S. Kuhan before quickly scoring a third, two minutes later. Within a minute, Malaysia netted their fourth goal through the stick of Chuah Boon Huat.
Pakistan’s response came through Ahmed Zubair who reduced the deficit in the 13th minute. Malaysia added two more goals, one from each Huat and Kuhan in 16th and 23rd minute respectively. Kashif Shah Syed added another to Pakistan’s lone goal just three minutes later. However, once again, the Malaysians responded in the very next minute through Kuhan. Minutes later, Qadir Muhammad Arsalan added a third goal for Pakistan and the game went into halftime with Malaysia leading 7-3.
Right after the halftime, Huat put a cherry on the cake by scoring his third and Malaysia’s 8th goal of the game. No goals were scored during the last 34 minutes of the game.
Defending champions Iran started their campaign against Kazakhstan with more than an impressive victory. Iran scored 15 goals in the course of 70 minutes while Kazakhstan failed to score. In the final match of the day, Uzbekistan thrashed Thailand by 6 goals to 1. The tournament is scheduled to end on Sunday.
Malaysian hockey coach Teng Cheng Leong was extremely pleased and satisfied over the big victory but remained cautious about reaching the final of the tournament. He said that he was very happy with the result and his players who played to his instructions. The Malaysian team consists of a few young players who made their debut in this match. Commenting on their performances, the coach said that some of the youngsters were quite nervous as this was their first time at this level but their confidence will grow and they will get better as they play more games.
Commenting on the performance of Pakistan, Leong said that his opponents played a good game but they could not match the hosts in tactics and skill.
This was Pakistan’s second defeat in the tournament as they had already faced a humiliating defeat against Iran when they lost by 6 goals to 2. Malaysia will play their next game against Kazakhstan. The top two teams of the tournament will play each other in the final for the right to win the championship. Currently, the top positions are occupied by Iran and Malaysia and both are the favourites to play each other in the final.
Pakistan hockey that once ruled the roost is currently in shambles. The four time record world champions have not won a single title in the last 16 years when they defeated Holland to win the 1994 World Cup. In the next four world cups, Pakistan’s performances kept deteriorating. Pakistan achieved the 5th position in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cup’s. Pakistan won the 6th in 2006 and a record low 12th position in the recently concluded World Cup in New Delhi, India.
The Champions Trophy - another prestigious hockey event started by Pakistan herself in late 1970s - was last won by Pakistan in 1994. The year 2000 was the first time in its history when Pakistan failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy. The last time Pakistan played in the six nation event was in 2007. Pakistan has won three Olympic Hockey Gold Medals as of now. The story of the last four Summer Olympic Games is no different for Pakistan Hockey with 6th, 4th, 5th and 8th positions in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics respectively.
Pakistan Hockey has undergone several changes during the last decade in a desperate attempt to lift the sport in the country. The most recent development in this regard has been the appointment of Dutch Coach Michel Van Heuvel. Everyone is Pakistan is hoping that the most expensive coach in the country’s hockey history might bring in the much needed improvements.
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