Sohail, who shoulders most of Pakistan's hopes for a hockey
medal in London, had a ball at the festival that had also attracted former stalwarts
like Samiullah, Hanif Khan, Qamar Ibrahim and squash legend Jahangir Khan.
But the drag flick ace was fully aware of the fact that he and
his teammates were now supposed to get down to serious work, a year before the
London Games get under way on July 27, 2012.
On the current form book, Pakistan hockey team has little hopes
of winning a medal in London. Winning the Olympic title seems almost out of
question, at least at the moment.
Pakistan has won three Olympic titles but currently lags far behind
top teams like world champion Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and even host Great Britain.
In recent times, it has even lost against lowly teams like
France and Belgium. The Pakistanis have not won a major world event since annexing
the World Cup for a record fourth time in 1994 in Sydney.
Odds seem completely stacked against the Pakistanis as they
carry on their Olympic homework after a month-long training tour of Europe.
"It's certainly a very tough task to win an Olympic
medal," Sohail told Arab News. "Most of the competing teams are
really good and to be able to finish among the top-three in London where teams
like Australia, Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Britain will be going glory with
full force we will need to give our very best," added the seasoned
defender, who has never won an Olympic gold during an illustrious career that
has seen him score 329 international goals — the most by any player in hockey's
history.
But Sohail was quick to add that things weren't all that bad for
the Greenshirts, who last won the Olympic gold in 1984 in Los Angeles.
"The good thing is that we have managed to regain our Asian
Games title which has really boosted out morale and confidence," said Sohail,
who was a part of the team that won the Asian Games gold in China last year.
The win gave Pakistan its first Asian Games crown in 20 years.
Another factor that provides optimism to Pakistan's hockey
players and officials is that the national team is getting more and more
matches against top international teams. Recently, Pakistan locked horns with top
teams like Netherlands, Germany and Britain during their training tour of
Europe. Before that Pakistan sailed into the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
in Ipoh (Malaysia) before losing to world champions Australia in extra-time.
Later this year, Pakistan will play several matches against the Aussies
during a tour Down Under after featuring in the inaugural Champions Trophy in
China. They will end an action-packed 2011 by making a comeback in the elite
Champions Trophy to be played in New Delhi.
"We have lined up maximum number of matches for our team
because that's going to be really beneficial for the boys as they prepare for major
events like the Champions Trophy and Olympic Games," Asif Bajwa, the
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary, told Arab News. "In the last
few years, we seldom got ample chances to play against leading teams and that
was really affecting our performance. But that has changed now," added
Bajwa, a former Olympian.
Sohail agrees that playing regularly against the big boys is
helping Pakistan's cause. "When you play close matches against top teams,
it adds to your confidence and helps you in improving your game," he said.
Following the tour of Europe, the role of Pakistan's aging
senior players like Sohail, midfielder Waseem Ahmed and strikers Rehan Butt and
Shakeel Abbasi has been questioned with former stalwarts like Shehnaz Shiekh
and Samiullah suggesting that Pakistan should show more faith in youngsters.
Their critics are of the view that senior players might not be
able to maintain peak fitness in tough tournaments like the Champions Trophy and
the Olympic Games, something that they fear will further dent Pakistan's hopes
in the two major assignments.
But Sohail is confident that he and fellow seniors will give
their best both in New Delhi and London.
"We are working really hard on our form and fitness,"
he said. "We are hungry and motivated and want to win an Olympic medal for
Pakistan before saying goodbye to the game. That is why I'm sure that we will be
giving our best for the team." Sohail is also of the view that any
'experimentation' at this point in time could prove counter-productive for
Pakistan. "We will have to rely on the existing pool of 25-30 players
because now there isn’t much time for experimentation.”
