World XI tour heralds new dawn for Pakistan hockey

THE two-match series between the World XI and Pakistan under-18 hockey teams heralded a new dawn for the national game and is could prove to be the crucial step towards revival of the golden era.

The World XI comprised players from six-nations - Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Argeneina, New Zealand and Spain. Pakistan's renowned striker Sohail Abbas, who was named captain of the World XI, stayed away for reasons best known to him. Most of the visiting players were veterans with many feathers in their caps.

The World XI was pitted against a young Pakistan under-18 outfit who, despite losing the Karachi match 1-5, put up a resolute performance in the second match at Lahore to hold the experienced World XI to a three-all draw.

Victory and defeat are immaterial but what is important is that the series marked the revival of the game on home soil which was a great sight for hockey-starved fans.

It was a wise decision of the PHF to invest in the juniors and give them exposure. Modern hockey has completely changed and belongs to the youth.

Unfortunately, however, no arrangements were made to bring in school, college students to watch the matches at Karachi and Lahore as the general public enclosures remained empty which was not a great sight.

Looking back in history, Pakistan hockey team has achieved the distinction of performing the Grand Slam twice, the first occasion being the Mexico Olympics (1968), Bangkok Asian Games (1970), Barcelona World Cup (1971) and the second being Mumbai World Cup (1981-82), Delhi Asian Games (1982) and the Los Angeles Olympics (1984).