Hockey is an amateur game in Pakistan: Qasim Zia

PANAJI: Sports and politics do mix. Especially if you consider the sublime credentials of Qasim Zia, president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).

Zia belongs to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is a provincial legislator in the Punjab Assembly, Member of the Central Executive Committee of the PPP and a former president of the PPP in Punjab.

He also happens to possess World Cup, Olympic, Asian Games and Asia Cup gold medals. In his playing days spanning over 100 internationals, he brandished a lethal penalty corner hit.

Today he wields a clout that has brought in Rs 350 million a year, mainly from the Government and National Bank of Pakistan for the development of the sport he loves.

Zia, 48, was clear, concise and remarkably warm while spelling out his plans to haul Pakistan out of a title wilderness as he looked towards and beyond the Hero Honda 2010 FIH World Cup commencing in New Delhi next month.

Excerpts:

Being a former player must surely help as an administrator…..

Yes, of course. Knowing and understanding the game helps as well as being able to see the player’s point of view helps.

What are your plans to revive Pakistan hockey?

We have drawn up a grand programme, the most important of which are the academies. We have 18 of them all over the country and admit boys from the age of 12 to 14, coached by former Pakistan players. We now run a junior super league for U-18s that has helped us win the junior Asia Cup recently. Our under-21 team called Pakistan Whites will play the SAF Games in Dhaka and our senior team is training for the World Cup. So, we have created U-18, 21 and senior teams.

Your take on a foreign coach for the national team…

I am open to the idea.

Has Pak adopted a graded contract system for its national players?

No, we haven’t. Hockey, unlike cricket in Pakistan, is an amateur game. So, we cannot have a central contract for the players. But, yes, we have started a graded incentive scheme based on performance.

Players graded A will receive Rs 50,000, B Rs 40,000, C Rs 30,000 and D Rs 25,000 monthly. The others could receive Rs 15,000 per month. But these are incentives not salaries and will be paid if a panel decides that the players have performed.

Your expectations at the WC?

We hope to do well in the World Cup but I cannot say how far Pakistan will go. We are very happy to qualify for the event but like I said when I took over as PHF president, our aim is to win the Asian Games gold (in Guangzhou, China, in November).

Your opinion on India?

You have brilliant players and your team is good. I watched them play at the Champions Challenge at Salta, Argentina, in December. However, your management of hockey is new and it all depends on how things shape in the near future.

Your most memorable moments as a player?

There are four of them: Winning gold medals at the 1982 Mumbai World Cup, the 1982 Karachi Asia Cup, the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.