WEEK IN SPORTS: Pakistan hockey won the Asian Games gold after two decades, defeating a strong Malaysian outfit by a clear margin. This win was no fluke because in the semis they had defeated South Korea in a penalty shoot out. This was wonderful news for a nation that has had more than its share of tragedy in the recent past.
It is hoped that the momentum gained by this win will carry over to a grassroots development programme that will revive what is still considered our national sport. Credit must go to the Pakistan Hockey Federation and the selectors who chose and then trained the best available talent. In the recent past, Pakistan hockey had slipped precariously and looked in danger of dying out completely.
It is hoped that after this win we will see more youngsters playing hockey on the streets rather than the ubiquitous tennis ball cricket. Pakistan’s women’s cricket team covered itself in glory at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, winning gold.
They are an enthusiastic group of cricketers and were good to watch in the recent women’s World Cup in spite of their limited abilities. But they have more than made up for that with their exhilarating attitude. Well done, girls.
Meanwhile, men’s cricket too has started looking good. Pakistan’s two draws against South Africa did indeed feel like wins, as Misbah-ul-Haq stated, so low has our cricketing graph been in recent times. For Misbah, this series has been redemption of sorts. His match winning performances in the shorter version of the game might have led him to believe that he would have an extended stay on the international scene.
But all too quickly, as has been the bent of our selectors, he was back in the wilderness. His appointment as captain was due to the fact that he was the last man standing. There were no alternative options. It is safe to say that Misbah led from the front. His captaincy was unobtrusive yet seemingly effective. His batting in a crisis was revelation as was that of the emerging Pakistan middle order.
In Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, Pakistan has two batsmen who sell their wickets dearly. Along with Younis Khan and the injured Yousuf, they could form a middle order that could be a match for any team. Another on-again off-again Test cricketer, the opener Taufeeq Umar, also looks like he belongs in the side. It seems, for once, the selectors are doing justice to their jobs.
One can only imagine where our team would have been had Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir not messed up with their careers. They were two of the very finest bowlers on the Test scene. If the Pakistani batting gave them and Umar Gul some runs to play with, Pakistan would be in with a chance against any side. This series could be the end of the road for Mohammad Sami who was expensive as well as ineffective.
England have made an inauspicious start to their much awaited Ashes campaign, being dismissed for 260 odd in their first innings. It was the journeyman pacer, Peter Siddle who did the damage, claiming a hat-trick in the process.
Australia were also in trouble in their first innings only to be rescued by the redoubtable Michael Hussey. This is early days in the series, one that has all the potential of being a great one. There is something special about the Ashes, something that transcends the sport itself. The atmosphere could perhaps be comparable to a Pakistan-India series.
What strikes one is the beautiful way the game of cricket is presented. The beautifully manicured grounds, the full stadiums, the knowledgeable commentators on television as well as the television coverage itself. It is a far cry from the empty stadiums that we witnessed in the UAE in the recent series against South Africa.
In fact the attendances at our local grounds are even worse, with the proverbial policemen and stray dogs. Is it because we do not know how to sell the sport in our country? Or is it that spectators are well aware of the uncomfortable conditions on the grounds?
Perhaps it is a bit of both. But it is definitely something that needs to be addressed by our cricketing authorities. In a bitterly fought, often controversial contest, Syed Kaleem Imam defeated Dilawar Abbas by eight votes to six to win the Pakistan Tennis Federation elections.
The elections followed months of controversy and court cases. Earlier, the ministry of sports had appointed an ad hoc committee to run the PTF following Dilawar Abbas’ refusal to hold elections. Upon his commitment to not run in the election for the third time, the ad hoc was removed. Dilawar then did an about face and quoting legal points, said that he had decided to run again.
Running for the third term is contrary to sports policy rules as well as PTF constitution. The PTF constitution explicitly states that a person can hold office for two terms, yet Abbas and his cohorts were unmoved. Observers liken Kaleem Imam’s victory to a rebirth of tennis in Pakistan. Syed Asghar Ali Shirazi, a former vice-president of PTF immediately announced a national junior tournament to celebrate what he termed “the rebirth of Pakistan tennis.”
There are certain anomalies in the PTF constitution that make their elections a dicey affair. For instance, there are two individuals in Karachi, who never play tennis and never do anything for it, yet they each have one vote in the elections as compared to the entire population of Punjab, which has one vote. So these two people can outvote 80 million people. Hardly democratic, one would say.
The new PTF setup should take a serious look at the constitution and straighten out the anomalies. They would be doing Pakistan tennis a great favour. Apart from Aisam Qureshi’s heroics on the international stage, something that has no connect with the PTF, Pakistan’s tennis has been ravaged in the past eight years.
Our juniors are so weak and so few that we have not been able to send an under 14 team to the Asian qualifiers. The junior Davis Cup team did go and finished dead last, losing by embarrassing scores to tennis nobodies like Syria. This is the legacy that Dilawar Abbas and his team have left Pakistan. The way back is going to be agonizingly slow. We will need all the luck that we can get.
