Pakistan hurt as sporting nation, says former goalie

Feb 21, 2015 – Harpreet Kaur Lamba

When was the last time that an international sporting team visited Pakistan? It might make for an interesting quiz question, but is the stark reality of a nation that once thrived on its sport.

The land of cricketing greats Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, squash legends Jehangir and Jansher Khan and the invincible hockey squads, the country’s fans are now robbed of seeing their heroes live in action. In fact, there is an entire generation that has not seen Pakistan play on home turf.

Pakistan have not hosted international cricket since militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring nine. The annual bilateral hockey series too was halted, with only club teams occasionally travelling to the country.

While Pakistan players did not get permission to play in the ongoing Hockey India League, former goalkeeper Salman Akbar and coach Tahir Zaman have been the face of the country here – both on commentary duties.

Akbar, who played for Pakistan for 14 years and was a member of the 2010 Asian Games gold-medal winning squad, said, “It is time to perhaps look at things with a fresh approach… It will take a two-way effort.”

“There is an entire new generation of Pakistan players who have no experience or idea of what it is to play for the country in front of their fans. Similarly, young Pakistani fans too have only seen their heroes on TV.”

Interestingly, the country has witnessed success at international competitions in different sport in the last few years — the cricket team lifted the 2009 world T20 championship, the women’s cricket team won gold at the 2014 Asian Games while the men’s hockey team clinched a silver — but the situation is not very positive on the ground.

Akbar puts it down to a lack of system in the country. “The recent incidents have hurt Pakistan as a sporting nation. There have been no international tournaments, teams are not willing to tour the country, and slowly the players too are moving out to play abroad. This is a worrying sign.”

“I think we have to be honest about it. The reason behind security concerns is valid, but I would like to say that the situation is not as bad as it seems… We are a sport-loving country. People of the country are waiting to see their teams play against the world’s best in the stadiums, and it has hurt us as a sporting nation. I would like to appeal to the powers in Pakistan to look into the situation and see what can be done to ensure that countries find it safe to visit us once again. The public is waiting to see matches at home.”

Hockey too has struggled in the wake of recent happenings. Pakistan missed out on the World Cup last year — a first for the country — and if that was not enough, lack of funds derailed preparations for the 2014 Asian Games and the Champions Trophy. The team did not even have the finances to travel to India for the Champions Trophy until a businessman bailed them out.

Akbar said the team’s positive performance in both events where they took a silver each, was an indication that there was a lot of potential and the authorities needed to act quickly to arrest the slide.
“To win medals without proper camps and last minute go-aheads was laudable. It shows the players are talented and need support. We cannot let the sport die in our country. The Pakistan Hockey Federation should learn from India, and see how they provide a professional environment to their players.”

“Rather than making excuses, we should look at solutions,” he added. Pakistan though made headlines for the wrong reasons in what was a rare appearance for their players on Indian soil during the Champions Trophy hockey in December, 2014. The players made obscene gestures towards the crowd following their 4-3 semi-final win over India at Bhubaneshwar, leading to suspension to two of their players.

Akbar condemned the act, saying it “embarrassed him”. “The scoreboard was doing the talking, so where was the need to do anything else? Pakistan players’ gestures embarrassed me.”

“To me, Pakistan beating Holland in the quarter-finals was a bigger win than this, and it shows that we still have the same mentality of being happy only after beating India. I think the players missed the larger picture and it is best for nations to rise above this… During my career, I played in India many times and the crowd would gather behind the goal post and hurl abuses. It is not their fault as they want their country to win. We, as ambassadors of the sport, have to maintain our sanctity and ensure that we give our best. There is no place for hatred in sport,” Akbar said.