No one seems to be paying much attention, but it seems that the Pakistan hockey team is slowly but surely making a comeback. Playing in the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament – one of the toughest tournaments where every team plays every other team – Pakistan’s boys in green are surprising team after team, most recently beating India 3-1.
But the real surprise is that their performance is consistent. They have actually lost two of the five games they have played, but they their performance has been consistent and, I would say, consistently improving. Consistency is not a virtue you ever associate with Pakistan. Hence the surprise.
Pakistan did get a drubbing from the Australians and also lost to Great Britain (but with a smaller margin and a closer game) but the ones we are beating are all significant teams – the match to go is against hosts Malaysia. Sure, this is not mind-blowing performance, but it is now consistently better-than-expected performance. And that is what really counts.
Beyond whatever happens in this one tournament, the larger question one has to ask – also keeping Pakistan’s performance in the recent Asian Games in mind – is whether the Pakistan Men’s hockey team is making a comeback to glory? And if so, if anyone noticing? (And here is the Zen question of the day: If the team makes a comeback but no one notices, does that count as a comeback?)
Amongst all the bad incidents related to Pakistan, any good news should be projected more than the useless talk shows involving dirty politicians. but i’m afraid that will not happen with the current media.
Congrats to Pak hockey team for giving us some joy!!!
I am a huge hockey fan, and have even played university level hockey in India.
Among my fondest hockey memories growing up is watching the great Pakistani forwards, Hasan Sardar and Shahbaz Sr. playing against India, at different times, in New Delhi’s national and shivaji stadium – to see these two forwards play is to understand the meaning of sublime; to understand what is meant by the expression – “poetry in motion”.
While I yearn for India to beat Pakistan in every other sport or sphere, for some inexplicable reason, when it comes to hockey I don’t mind terribly when you guys win. Maybe it’s due to the fact that Pakistani hockey still has some following , and still maintains the possibility to be world champions, unlike India, where cricket has sucks out every last ounce of support from the public.
While i despise cricket – mostly due to residual jealousy from college days when girls would swarm all over our college’s mediocre cricket team, while completely ignoring the state champion hockey team, of which i was a member three years in a row – for some reason i still rejoice when India beats Pakistan, so you can imagine my sincerity when I say – Congratulation to the Pakistani hockey team for beating us in Malaysia.
All the players in other teams are junior. Because all other nations don’t take Azlan Shah tournament seriously and consider it as a platform to prepare for the Olympics and expose their junior players to an international event.
Its not that I’m not happy that Pak won but it could have been a great oppertunity for Pak hockey team to introduce their younger players just like others.