Haunted by shadows of its glorious past

In the four Hockey World Cups since 2006, Pakistan have won a total of two matches – 4-0 against Japan at Monchengladbach, 2006 and 2-1 against Spain at New Delhi, 2010. The team, of course, didn’t add to the tally in 2014, when it reached a new low and didn’t even qualify for the World Cup, or over the past fortnight in Bhubaneswar, where it couldn’t any of the four matches it played.

For the diehard opportunist, and cherry-picker of stats, this year’s World Cup, technically, was Pakistan’s most successful in 12 years, having not been a part of it in 2014 and finishing bottom in 2010. But then again, that too was owing to a change in the World Cup format.

Not only did the tournament’s expansion to 16 teams paved Pakistan’s path towards qualification, the crossover format meant that even third placed sides in four-team groups could boast having qualified for the knockout stages – which indeed Pakistan duly did.

But to give the matter some perspective, Pakistan’s knockout stage finish was built on a winless campaign in which the team only scored two goals in four matches. And so despite losing to both Germany and the Netherlands in the pool matches, a 1-1 draw against Malaysia was enough for Pakistan to qualify on Goal Difference.

In many ways it is appropriate that it was Belgium that knocked Pakistan out following a 5-0 drubbing in the crossover. This is because the two sides appear to be tracing diverging trajectories on the same timeline.

At the time of writing, Belgium had qualified for their first ever World Cup semifinal, which would’ve been played out against England yesterday (Saturday) – and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Belgians win it to set up a final against the winner of the blockbuster clash between Australia and the Netherlands.

The Belgians made it to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics final in 2016 as well, coming undone against Argentina – another side that is sketching a graph in contrast to Pakistan’s. The last time a Pakistani side made it to an Olympics final was 34 years ago in Los Angeles.

Argentina, who weren’t at their best in the tournament and lost to France in the pool eventually being knocked out by England, played their first and only World Cup semifinal in 2014. And now they and Belgium, the second and third ranked sides heading into the World Cup, have a collective two semifinals in the tournament – half the number of World Cups that Pakistan have won.

The matchup between Pakistan – a historic hockey giant that still has more World Cups than any other side – and Belgium – a growing powerhouse of the sport – carried as much symbolism for Pakistan hockey as it perhaps brought the side against its most ominous adversary: its own glittering, trophy-laden past.

Over the past two decades two generations of hockey players have been relentlessly reminded of Pakistan’s glory days. And it is constantly chasing those stars that is pushing Pakistan towards new nadirs instead of inspiring a turnaround.

Between the side’s last major triumph, the 1994 World Cup, and the 2006 edition, Pakistan had three top six finishes in the tournament, and two more at the Olympics, along with runners-up spots at the Champions Trophy.Over the next decade or so, Pakistan finished bottom at New Delhi 2010 and failed to qualify for The Hague 2014 and Rio 2016.

During all this time, countless obituaries for Pakistan hockey have been written and quite often the death knell has been sounded by the champions of the past who brought the country abundance of glory. But perhaps it is finally the time to accept that even our legends of the past – who ruled the world in completely contrasting eras, when a totally different brand of the sport was being played – aren’t quite sure about the solution.

It is fitting that the latest abysmal showing has come under the tutelage of Hassan Sardar – the man who spearheaded Pakistan’s last Olympic Gold campaign – and Rehan Butt – a key figure of really the last competitive Pakistan side. Because that thoroughly explains why Pakistan hockey is still living in the past – both on and off the pitch.

Technically and individually there is little differentiating Pakistan and the top six sides of the world. It is the strategy and combination that is letting the team down.

Pakistan scoring a total of two goals in the tournament is explained by an equally lowly number of circle penetrations. While the hockey elite are now working on how to penetrate in tandem, working on dynamic triangles, Pakistan still seem to be keen on individual runs into the circles.

Defensively, while Pakistan showed compactness in matches against Germany and Malaysia, the team still hasn’t appointed the global culture where defending starts from the centre forward. There is a prodigious disparity between the pressing exhibited by Pakistan and the rest.

Skipper Muhammad Rizwan Sr has witnessed this decade of mediocrity, now leading the latest shambolic exit for Pakistan at a major tournament. The likes of his deputy Ammad Shakeel Butt and other younger lot might represent the future, which as things stand doesn’t promise much better than the present reality of Pakistan hockey.

Of course, Pakistan hockey’s troubles run a lot deeper than gameplay at major tournaments. There isn’t enough money, and with the security situation over the past decade or so it couldn’t have afforded the luxury of something like the star-studded Hockey India League, which has definitely made Indian hockey more competitive in recent times.

But perhaps it’s time for Pakistan hockey to start afresh and let go of the past. Teams like Belgium and Argentina are growing into world-beaters in recent years without a glittering heritage. It’s perhaps their example that Pakistan hockey needs to follow more so than that of its own all-conquering past.