Talent, pain, hope: Young Abdul Shahid reflects the state of hockey in Pakistan | Hockey news

BHUBANESWAR: The decline of hockey in Pakistan is a common pain of every real hockey fan, and it becomes painful when you see talent but no results. 16-year-old Abdul Hanan Shahid is a classic example in this context, combined with what has been another inspiring international outing for the Pakistani team. They have not made it to the semi-finals of the ongoing Youth World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
At Abdul’s home, hockey is a unanimous topic of conversation around the dining table. And that’s largely because the Abdul family has a wealth of hockey background and heritage.
Abdul comes from the family of 1964 Olympic silver winner Afzal Manna, who was his grandfather’s brother. Abdul’s father Mohammad Shahid played for the Pakistan junior team. This legacy has been passed on to Abdul and his cousin Azfar Yaqoob, who is a senior team member in Pakistan.
The family also runs a club in Lahore called Pak Heroes.

(Photo: Hockey India)
“We are lucky to be able to develop at a younger age, such as at the age of 14-15, while most children become good players at the age of 18-20,” said midfielder Abdul as he sat down to talk to TimesofIndia.com in Bhubaneswar.
“Hockey is something our family often discusses because of the root of our sport,” added Abdul, who said of his rapid rise to racketing at the age of four.
After completing her 10th elementary school exam, Shahid moved from the famous Crescent School in Lahore to Government College. By the way, this youth world cup is his first taste of international hockey.
Abdul is also the captain of the Punjab A team, and his goal-scoring ability makes him the best draw in most age group home tournaments in Pakistan, where he often wins the “Tournament Player” award.

(Photo: Hockey India)
As the subject moved from Abdul to Pakistan at the Junior World Championships, the face of the young striker was easily seen to change from pride to disappointment.
Pakistan did not bow to the fight without a fight. They made Argentina sweat, but the goal shown by the South American stitch work knocked out Pakistan’s foals 4-3.
But the sting missing from Pakistan playing in the opening pool game against Germany, which won 5-2, remained the difference as they ranked in the top two in Group D and finished third.
Their only win (3-1) in the pool stage was recorded by minnows against Egypt.
“There are 4-5 men in our team aged 16-18, young talent on whom this team is built. We have little international visibility, so we couldn’t do well. We had higher expectations, we also had support for it. Everything could be done in preparation, was done. I would say we were unlucky, “Abdul told TimesofIndia.com.
“If you see our trip, we lost a lot of scoring opportunities. If it hadn’t happened, we could have been in the semi-finals. But we learn from these mistakes.
The Pakistan Senior Team has dropped to 18th place in the FIH rankings, largely due to their decision to withdraw from the FIH Pro League in 2019. Had they played, their ranking could have been higher and it would also have placed them against less. -skilled team than the Dutch in the Olympic qualifiers.
“Our incident began when we withdrew from the FIH Pro League … We still deserve to be among the top ten.” Abdul said.
Abdul’s youthful experience may have made him forget that Pakistan did not make it to the last two Olympics and the 2014 World Cup. The decline in ranking was a consequence.
In its next practice, the Pakistani Hockey Association has selected Seigfried Aikman from the Netherlands as its foreign coach as part of the course correction. Aikman will coach Japan for gold in the 2018 Asian Games, but left that position after the average performance at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.
Pakistani hockey flourished and produced legends until the early 2000s, when the department’s hockey and their domestic structure were at their best. Most departments or public sector companies have since abandoned groups with no plans to revive them as they are.
The declining opportunities for a hockey career, like Abdul’s predecessors in the family, have hurt Pakistan. But the young boy remains optimistic.
“PHF called juniors and seniors sometimes back and told us they do classes and hockey is controlled regionally. Regions pay their (players) salaries. For example, Indian Odisha. It makes a team and the state has 30-40 players in different age groups. It’s PHF: ‘s new initiative, “he said.
“As far as the league is concerned, there will be one in February or March 2022.”
Despite the fact that the JWC is disappointing, Pakistan leaves good memories and lessons learned on Indian soil. After all, this was the first visit to India for every player on the Pakistani team.
“Our goal was to play at least in the semifinals. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it. So we lost a little bit of our confidence. But we’re here to learn,” Abdul continued to tell TimesofIndia.com.
The hospitality that every visiting Pakistan team in India has enjoyed is often talked about.
Pakistan’s senior team experienced it at the 2018 World Cup in Odisha. This time it was the juniors turn.
“I want to thank Odisha. We have been well supported. Whatever we needed, we have been offered more.
“The way we have been received feels like we are in Pakistan.” Abdul said.