KARACHI, 5 May 2006 — Pakistan hockey chief Tariq Kirmani concedes that on current form his team have not a chance of regaining the World Cup title in Germany this fall.
In an exclusive interview to Arab News, Kirmani also said that he was disappointed over Pakistan’s performance in the 12-nation World Cup qualifiers in Changzhou, China from April 12 to 23.
He said that investigations are on to find the real causes of the poor showing of the Pakistani team, adding that the people responsible for the decline will have to pay for it.
“I am very unhappy over the way we played in the (World Cup) qualifiers,” said Kirmani. “It was difficult to believe that it was the same of set of players who have done much better in previous international tournaments,” added the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president. Top seeded in Changzhou, Pakistan finished fourth in the World Cup Qualifiers behind lower-ranked teams — New Zealand, South Korea and England. Pakistan managed to qualify for the World Cup by finishing among the top five teams but the results produced by them in the qualifying tournament have raised a lot of hue and cry within the national hockey circles.
“Frankly speaking, I am not the sort of person who gives results too much importance but the thing that worries me is the way these boys played in Changzhou. I am pretty sure that they can do much better,” said Kirmani, also the chairman and CEO of PIA.
The PHF chief said that he is really concerned following the team’s display in Changzhou and added that the players will have to pull up their socks for Pakistan to have any chances in the World Cup. The 12- nation World Cup would be played from Sept.
6 to 17 in Monchengladbach, Germany.
“Having seen it playing badly in Changzhou, I am not expecting that Pakistan will go on to regain the World Cup,” said Kirmani. “We do believe that these players are capable of doing well but on current form they do not have much hopes of winning the gold medal in Germany.” Kirmani said that the PHF is currently focusing on sniffing out young blood for the future. “We are seriously thinking about infusing new blood in the national team after the World Cup with an eye on the 2008 Olympic Games,” said Kirmani.
In the meantime, he said that the PHF would investigate the causes behind the national team’s poor performance and would take appropriate decisions soon. “We are weighing our options,” he said when asked whether the PHF would opt for a new team management in the wake of the Changzhou disappointment.
“Whoever is responsible for the bad showing would pay either it’s the players or the officials,” said Kirmani. “We have already started to bring some changes in the set-up.
The chairman of the national selection committee has resigned and we have appointed a new chief selector. More changes might follow.” Akhtar Rasool has resigned and the PHF has replaced him with another former Olympian Khalid Mehmood. There are speculations within the national hockey community that the team management would also be sacked.
Kirmani said that a decision over the fate of the national team management will only be made after hearing out the version of the team officials. “We are still waiting for the report from the team management because we want to hear their point of view before making a decision.” Kirmani asserted that the PHF would take a decision that is in the best interest of the national team.
