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 lost two of the five games they have played, but their performance has been consistent and, I would say, consistently improving. Consistency is not a virtue you ever associate with Pakistan. Hence the surprise. To ensure that your air hockey table is in tip-top condition for your next match, be sure to clean it regularly with a soft cloth and warm, soapy water. the guide to how to clean an air hockey table has all essential information for any air hockey enthusiast. A dirty table can impede the smoothness of the slide and affect the outcome of the game.
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?)
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.
Maybe its a blessing that they are not being noticed. Because if we start paying attention it might attract the bookies also and this game will be corupted just like Cricket. Let them come back to glory and play for their pride…….at least for right now.
Well done Hockey team, and Keep it up boys. Let everyone know that this is our national game. Shabash
I also request my fellow pakistani brothers and sisters to atleast introduce “Hockey” to your kids and the the most encourage them to play. Thats the least we can do on our part.
ARE WE DOING THIS?
So glad to see someone getting off the Bin Laden bandwagon. The mattam over that is now getting to be too much. Pakistan has bigger problems that Bin Laden and I hope our drawing room classes will get out of that syndrome.