Lahore, February 28 The interim committee running the affairs of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed legendary players Samiullah, Islahuddin Siddiqui, and Hasan Sardar in key roles, in an effort to revive the game in the country.
Following a restructuring of the PHF at the direction of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Samiullah has been appointed as the chief selector, while Islahuddin and Sardar have been tasked with making the hockey structure more professional and results-oriented, and bringing transparency to team affairs and selection matters.
All three belong to the golden era of Pakistani hockey, but many now question whether they are the right people for the job, given their lack of alignment with the modern game.
Samiullah disagreed with the notion that their ideas were outdated, pointing out that the need of the hour was to ensure the selection of players based on merit, to have the right people to manage team affairs, and to introduce professionalism among the players.
"All these things have nothing to do with the way hockey has changed. The basic principles always remain the same, and you need to implement them properly to make any headway in international hockey," he said.
All three have previous experience coaching the Pakistan senior and junior teams. Under Islahuddin's coaching, Pakistan reached the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona and 2004 Sydney Olympics, and also won gold at the Asian Games.
Sardar believes that the way forward is to identify and nurture the best young talent in the country, provide them with a secure financial future, and then expect them to deliver results.
"In the last few years, the fact that players have faced continuous issues of non-payment of allowances, poor logistical arrangements in training camps, and in international events has taken a toll on their performances," he said.
For the time being, the interim PHF President Muhuydin Wani has sent former Olympian Khawaja Junaid with the national side to Egypt for the World Cup qualifiers. However, this appointment has not been popular, even with the players and in hockey circles, given Junaid's poor track record as coach of the senior and junior teams on several occasions in the past.
Pakistan players wanted Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, but the interim committee cited a lack of time as the reason for bringing in Junaid again.
Pakistan needs to finish among the top three teams in the qualifiers to secure a spot in this year's World Cup, an event that they once dominated, but have failed to qualify for in the last two editions.
They face Austria, China, and Malaysia in their group.
