Revival of field hockey in Pakistan after Asian Games triumph
Pakistan men’s hockey team won the Asian Games 2010 and stood at the top spot with a gold medal. After years of decline in the sport of field hockey in Pakistan, this is the moment where people have started to take interest in the game.
Pakistan has been one of the most successful hockey team’s in the world. Although being the country’s national sport, hockey failed to maintain its status as the most watched and played game as compared to cricket, which is more discussed and widely played
in the country.
Pakistan’s hockey team has produced some world class player’s, who were known as the master’s of their trade. Winning the Hockey World Cup title as many as four times, Pakistan’s hockey team was once the most feared side in the sport of field hockey.
For the last two decades the sports of field hockey has been a victim of continuous decline, which seems to be coming to an end after victory at the Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou, China.
Pakistan Hockey Team has won the World Cup four times, earned three Olympic gold medals, three Hockey Champions Trophy gold medals, and eight gold medals at the Asian Games. These are the most prestigious tournaments in the sport of field hockey.
Despite all the golden moments of Pakistan’s hockey the game has witnessed some dark turns. Due to the alleged negligence of authorities, hockey was on the verge of becoming redundant in Pakistan. The infra-structure of hockey on the national level has almost
vanished and very few clubs have been able to survive the decline.
It wasn’t just the negligence of authorities that played a part in hockey’s fall from grace in Pakistan, political instability and terrorism in the country has also played a role in the decline of of not only hockey, but most sport from the streets and clubs
of Pakistan.
Winning a gold medal in the Asian Games 2010, will up-lift the morale of Pakistan’s hockey team as well as junior players, said Hanif Khan, a former hockey Olympian. He further added that this gold medal will provide solid grounds for the revival of hockey
in the country.
There are wide-spread discussions taking place about the future of Pakistan’s hockey team as the Olympics 2012 approaches, for which the green-shirts have already qualified. Most people argue that this might be the right time for the senior players to retire
in the glow of the Asian Games victory. And give way to the fresh blood and young talent to represent the country in the 2012 Olympics in London, and in the Hockey World Cup 2014 in Netherlands.
Pakistan's hockey team has been the most successful team in World Championships, winning 4 titles followed by Netherlands, which has won three titles.
One can conclude that this might be the awakening of a sleeping giant, keeping in view the Olympics 2012 and World Championship 2014.
The win against South Korea at the Asian Games can prove to be a platform for the uplift of hockey in Pakistan.
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