Pakistan players resign en masse after wooden spoon finish

Pakistan hockey on Thursday plunged to a new low with the team finishing at the bottom in the World Cup. Pakistan lost to Canada 3-2 in extra time to finish 12th, the worst-ever performance for the four-time champions, and a few hours later, there was no official Pakistan team left.
While the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced that it was sacking the team management and the national selection committee for the disastrous show, the entire 18-member Pakistan squad tendered their resignations, owning moral responsibility for the performance.

“There can’t be a worse day than this for Pakistan hockey, and we all take responsibility for it. A 12th-place finish cannot be defended by anyone under any circumstances. Even an 11th-place finish can’t be justified but today’s loss has led us to this decision,” Pakistan striker and one of the most experienced players in the team, Rehan Butt, told The Indian Express.

PHF media manager Shahzad Malik confirmed the resignations. “The captain of the Pakistan team, Zeeshan Ashraf, said that all the 18 players have decided to retire from international hockey. He said that the PHF has done a lot for the players but the players did not perform up to their expectations,” Malik said in an e-mail. Pakistan chief coach Shahid Ali Khan had earlier offered to resign.

Another senior Pakistan player said, on the condition of anonymity, that the team were united in the decision. “The senior players like us had offered to announce complete retirement from the sport but the youngsters in the team refused to accept that. They said that they were also part of the squad and were equally responsible,” he said.

However, while Butt admitted that the team’s poor performance in the World Cup was the trigger for the decision, the constant pressure and accusations of match-fixing recently in the Pakistan media and public did not make thing easier. “Of course, such things don’t help. I admit we played badly, much below our expectations or ability. But the poor results are not deliberate or intentional. Even though the FIH has cleared the issue and said that there has been no fixing, such accusations, specially against senior players, definitely create a lot of mental pressure,” he said.

Malik, meanwhile, said that PHF president Qasim Zia had sacked the management, including chief coach Shahid Ali Khan, assistant coach Shafqat Malik and team manager Muhammad Asif Bajwa. He, however, said that Bajwa would continue to remain the PHF secretary and an executive board meeting will hold an enquiry into the performance.

Team sources, meanwhile, said that there had been no response from the PHF yet on their resignation and they would know anything only after they returned to Lahore on Saturday night. “We wrote to them that, with this performance, we don’t think we deserve to represent Pakistan in international hockey, and that it was now up to the youngsters to take charge. There is no response till now and we will talk to the federation only on return,” a team member said.

But a PHF official said this was perhaps the most dignified exit possible for some of the players. “It is evident that some players are tired. They may have been good but now they are past their prime. For them, this will perhaps be the best way to leave with dignity instead of being thrown out,” he said.