Let’s go green again!
Pakistan’s national hockey team, the Green shirts, meet Australia in the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup final. Is it just me or has no one seemed to notice this – not even after Pakistan beat arch-rivals India 3-1? It is ironic that hockey, which is our national sport, does not enjoy the same stature as that enjoyed by cricket. A perfect example would be that around the same time that the Pakistan national cricket team crashed miserably against West Indies in the first Test match, the Green shirts won the qualifier against host team Malaysia 3-2 and cruised into the ...
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Asian Games 2010: A bright day for Pakistan
Pakistan brought gold home at the Asian Games on Thursday. Many believe that it is Pakistan’s right to be the holder of so many medals since, traditionally, Pakistan has been good at hockey and squash and has been world champion in the past. Pakistan is considered to be the greatest ever squash-playing nation of all time, and credit for this goes to the Khan dynasty. It all started with Hashim Khan, who, at the age of 36, opened Pakistan’s participation in the international arena at the British Open in 1951. Hashim went on to dominate the squash arena by winning ...
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Hockey – a global pariah
When the recent match-fixing controversy concerning the Pakistani cricket team broke a few days ago, a death-knell was sounded for the coverage of other, lesser mortals vying for some attention on the sports pages. This situation has me wondering about why other sports, which presumably have better commercial attributes and potential in this country have never been as popular as cricket. Take the example of our national sport, hockey. It is a team game which involves skill, poise and mental intelligence, not to mention quick reflexes and prime physical conditioning. A game of hockey usually takes 70 minutes while 70 ...
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Vive la football
What’s with the football craze these days? Cricket or football, please choose? Well, for all those football-lovers out there aren’t these questions just so annoying? Why do some of us in Pakistan take offence if there has been a recent liking for football among the youth? Regardless, there is no denying that hockey remains our national sport, and cricket our nation’s pride. Sports in general are becoming a great source of television entertainment and with our cricketers not providing much, and footballers making for better eye-candy, it is indeed becoming the preferred sport among the youth. So for all ...
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