Champions Trophy Hockey: Pakistan finishes 7th

Owais Mughal

Pakistan has finished at a distant seventh place in the 29th Champions trophy hockey tournament. This is the lowest rank for Pakistan in the history of Champions Trophy. Despite being the national game of Pakistan, the demise of hockey in the country has been epic. In the recent past Pakistan hockey team got defeats at the hands of China, Canada and Malaysia, which were unheard of until 2006. So where does the blame lie for this steady debacle? I thought about it and I concluded that besides the usual suspects i.e the coach, the captain, the selection committee etc; A big portion of the blame also goes to the disproportionate sponsorship which goes to the game of cricket as compared to that of hockey. There is lots of money in becoming a cricket superstar and not so much in becoming the hockey hero. Not to mention the glamor and the popularity associated with being a cricketer is manifolds than a hockey player. e.g. how many advertisement offers does Sohail Abbas (hockey) gets as compared to (say) Shahid Afridi (Cricket). Of course Shahid‘s good looks also play a role but Sohail Abbas is not that ugly that he couldn’t even get Lifeboy soap’s endorsement. Zameer Jafri‘s sher comes to mind

un ki gali meiN aisay khaRaa hooN
jaisay hockey ka goal keeper hooN

I understand my reasoning of blaming hockey’s debacle on cricket is too simplistic but I do think it is one of the biggest reasons in case of Pakistan atleast.

If we look around our neighborhoods, it is evident that Hockey, as a popular game in Pakistan has been on a constant decline since 1980s. A few youth today choose hockey as a hobby or profession as compared to those who choose cricket. Hockey clubs and grounds at neighborhood level, which were a common sight in 1980s have disappeared now. Today the reign of cricket as the most popular game in Pakistan is complete.

Getting back to Champions Trophy Hockey tournament and Pakistan’s record in it, I’ve collected following history of the tournament. The tournament was started in 1979, thanks to its founding father Air Marshal (retd) Nur Khan who was also the chief of hockey affairs in Pakistan then. Following data shows Pakistan’s performance in the 29 Champions trophy tournaments.

I: 1979: Lahore, Pakistan

1st: Pakistan
2nd: Australia
3rd: England
4th: New Zealand

II: 1980: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: Pakistan
2nd: West Germany
3rd: Australia
4th: Netherlands

III: 1981: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Australia
3rd: West Germany
4th: Pakistan

IV: 1982: Amstelveen, Netherlands

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Australia
3rd: India
4th: Pakistan

V: 1983: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: Australia
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: West Germany
4th: India

VI: 1984: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: Australia
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: England
4th: Netherlands

VII: 1985: Perth, Australia

1st: Australia
2nd: England
3rd: West Germany
4th: Pakistan

VIII: 1986: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: West Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Pakistan
4th: England

IX: 1987: Amstelveen, Netherlands

1st: West Germany
2nd: Netherlands
3rd: Australia
4th: England
Unknown: Pakistan ? reader’s help needed here

X: 1988: Lahore, Pakistan

1st: West Germany
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: Australia
4th: USSR

XI: 1989: Berlin, West Germany

1st: Australia
2nd: Netherlands
3rd: West Germany
4th: Pakistan

XII: 1990: Melbourne, Australia

1st: Australia
2nd: Netherlands
3rd: West Germany
4th: Pakistan
5th: USSR
6th: England

XIII: 1991: Berlin, Germany

1st: Germany
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: Netherlands
4th: Australia
5th: England
6th: USSR

XIV: 1992: Karachi, Pakistan

1st: Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Pakistan
4th: Netherlands
5th: England
6th: France

XV: 1993: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1st: Australia
2nd: Germany
3rd: Netherlands
4th: Pakistan
5th: Spain
6th: Malaysia

XVI: 1994: Lahore, Pakistan

1st: Pakistan
2nd: Germany
3rd: Netherlands
4th: Australia
5th: Spain
6th: England

XVII: 1995: Berlin, Germany

1st: Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Pakistan
4th: Netherlands
5th: India
6th: England

XVIII: 1996: Madras, India

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: Germany
4th: India
5th: Spain
6th: Australia

XIX: 1997: Adelaide, Australia

1st: Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Spain
4th: Netherlands
5th: Pakistan
6th: South Korea

XX: 1998: Lahore, Pakistan

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Pakistan
3rd: Australia
4th: South Korea
5th: Spain
6th: Germany

XXI: 1999: Brisbane, Australia

1st: Australia
2nd: South Korea
3rd: Netherlands
4th: Spain
5th: England
6th: Pakistan

XXII: 2000: Amstelveen, Netherlands

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Germany
3rd: South Korea
4th: Spain
5th: Australia
6th: Englsnd
Pakistan did not qualify to play this year

XXIII: 2001: Rotterdam, Netherlands

1st: Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Netherlands
4th: Pakistan
5th: England
6th: South Korea

XXIV: 2002: Cologne, Germany

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Germany
3rd: Pakistan
4th: India
5th: Australia
6th: South Korea

XXV: 2003: Amstelveen, Netherlands

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Australia
3rd: Pakistan
4th: India
5th: Argentina
6th: Germany

XXVI: 2004: Lahore, Pakistan

1st: Spain
2nd: Netherlands
3rd: Pakistan
4th: India
5th: Germany
6th: New Zealand

XXVII: 2005: Chennai, India

1st: Australia
2nd: Netherlands
3rd: Spain
4th: Germany
5th: Pakistan
6th: India

XXVIII: 2006: Terrassa, Spain

1st: Netherlands
2nd: Germany
3rd: Spain
4th: Australia
5th: Pakistan
6th: Argentina

XXIX: 2007: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1st: Germany
2nd: Australia
3rd: Netherlands
4th: South Korea
5th: Spain
6th: England
7th: Pakistan
8th: Malaysia

ATP’s other Hockey Related Posts

1. Abdul Waheed Khan and Pakistan Hockey
2. Upset or End of Pakistan Hockey
3. Hockey World Cup: Attention Deficit

References:

1. Pakistan Hockey Federation
2. Wikipedia