Thaindian News

Karachi, March 5 (IANS) Pakistan’s former hockey greats Islahuddin Siddiqui and Samiullah Khan lambasted the national team’s below-par showing in the World Cup, saying they were unprepared for such a major event.
Pakistan, four-time world champions, flopped miserably against India in a 1-4 loss and after bouncing back with a 2-1 win against Spain, they got a 5-2 mauling by England in their third Group B match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi Thursday.

Islahuddin, the former captain, stressed that Pakistan looked unprepared for a huge event like the World Cup. He added the national players lacked fitness and seemed confused during the best part of the encounter.

“It was quite visible that our players were not at par with England as far as their fitness was concerned,” said Islahuddin, one of the Pakistan’s most successful captains of all time.

“They were pretty tired in the last 15 minutes of the match and were even unable to get to the ball. It seems that they’ve not prepared well for a tournament like the World Cup.”

Islahuddin, also a former Pakistan coach, said the national team was also unable to come out with a proper strategy to win the match.

“In fact, it seemed that there was no strategy. The players looked confused. Our midfield was in tatters. Waseem (Ahmed), who is supposed to be our playmaker and centre-half was floating all over the place without performing his main job in the centre. It was really bad.”

Islahuddin said that after suffering defeats against India and England, only a miracle can help Pakistan reach the semifinals.

“We should have beaten India and I think we should have also won against England,” he said. “But now we are in a difficult situation and only a miracle can save our World Cup campaign.”

Samiullah, another legend, said the current Pakistan team is not capable of producing good results.

“I was saying this from the very start that this Pakistan team does not have a winning combination and now it has been proved. They played as per their capability and it is of no use criticising the players,” Samiullah said.

He said the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) should have showed the true picture of the team rather than making tall claims which have left the entire nation disappointed.

“Pakistan played pathetically only against India, otherwise they have not played that badly in the World Cup. They displayed a very good show against Olympic silver medallists Spain,” Samiullah said.

Former Pakistan captain Hanif Khan expressed his disappointment at the fact that both former Asian giants — Pakistan and India — have failed to bounce back on the world stage.

“It’s really sad that hockey in Pakistan and India continue to suffer at the hands of inefficient officials,” he said.