Former captain disappointed at Pakistan hockey team’s latest rankings

KARACHI: Salman Akbar, the former captain of Pakistan hockey team, has expressed disappointment at the team’s new low of slipping to worst ever 14th place in FIH rankings, terming it the darkest day of Pakistan hockey.

Pakistan, after finishing 7th and missing three major events previously, was placed at 14th position, its worst ever since the inception of Hockey Rankings.

“It is the darkest day of Pakistan hockey, there is nothing more frustrating than this,” Salman told Geo.tv.

“Missing major events, failing to qualify for Olympics and World Cup and now hitting rock bottom shows how our national sport is being run,” he said.

The former captain said that people at the helm of affairs should remove incompetent people from the set-up of Pakistan hockey team and bring in professional people to revive the game in the country.

“There may be people who were legends of their time, but it is not necessary that they’re equally capable of running the modern style game, a good coach doesn’t need to be a legend,” he said.

Salman argued that cosmetic changes in team management such as removing coach or manager will not serve the cause.

“We just can’t get away by renovating a building which is on the verge of collapse. Instead, we must go and create a new building,” he said.

The former captain demanded that hockey be taken out of the clutches of old-fashioned seniors and improvement is only possible if the game gets proper treatment from the government and other officials.