The green-shirts needed a title triumph in Asia Cup to salvage Pakistan s glorious past and secure a place in the World Cup. But a 2-1 defeat from Korea in semifinals, has dashed all hopes for Pakistan of reaching the World Cup. The World Cup 2014 edition will miss the green-shirts for the first time since its inception in 1971.
It is the Darkest Day in the history of Pakistan hockey. We have been the pioneer of the most important spectacle of hockey, where we reached the finals for six times and clinched it four times. It is very depressing for me to think of Pakistan not being the part of next year s World Cup, Shahnaz Sheikh lamented.
Shahnaz said that the semifinal match against Korea exposed our team s poor planning and management.
Pakistan was favorite in the match because Korea has not been at its best. Korea started defensive but our team never took advantage of it as there were no proper planning and management, Shahnaz said.
He further said that Pakistan had the possession of the ball of around 57 percent and yet they failed because the team played under pressure and they were not properly led.
Pakistan wasted their energy early in the match and Korean side exhausted our team. The management should have directed our players properly so that they could have put a proper show throughout the match, he said.
Shahnaz recalled that the former Olympians raised a hue and cry after Pakistan ended at the bottom-rock 12th place in the 12-nation World Cup in 2010 but no one listened to them.
When we protested against the team s lowly performance in 2010, no one listened to us. And now, after three years, team s performance has fallen instead of improving, so it must be concluded that we had been right in our demands then, Shahnaz said.
If we had been listened after 2010 World Cup debacle, then the whole nation didn t have to face this day, he said.
via http://pakistan.onepakistan.com.pk
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