30-Jan-2012
THE NEWS
Nabeel Hashmi
KARACHI: Former Olympian Wasim Feroze on Sunday said that the age limit in the 59th National Hockey Championship should be instantly lifted by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in order to provide chance to everybody.
The restriction that players must be under 30 if they have not played regularly for the national team has been severely criticised by athletes, officials and former players. Wasim joined the chorus and called it a ridiculous decision. He stated that such rules would further destroy the national game. “Our hockey is already at an all-time low and such decisions will only work as catalyst for its destruction,” Wasim told ‘The News’.
The rule has further strengthened the star-studded sides while the teams without stellar names have weakened. Thus a healthy competition cannot be expected in the event which is evidenced from the fact that sides like National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), WAPDA, SSGC and PIA have been winning with ease.
Port Qasim has lost nine players, PAF are without the services of 13 regular players and Army are playing with five of their main players out. All have demanded review of this decision, saying that if PHF decides to lift the ban even now, the future matches of the event can be really competitive.
Wasim was of the view that PHF has failed to learn the lesson despite the woeful showing of youngsters tried in the recent past. He said that seniors are an asset in any team. “Seniors are the ones who inspire the younger lot. If you take seniors out you cannot expect youngsters to learn. Experience is unparallel and seniors play a major role in grooming of young blood,” he said. “Such steps will even discourage the younger generations because it will be at the back of their minds that they will become a piece of scrap after 30 and thus people will be afraid of taking hockey as a profession.”
Wasim added that if PHF has put up this ban as a policy with a vision in their mind then it should have been implemented across the board. He said that the national event is not held to facilitate international players but to give all an equal and fair chance to vie for a place in the national side. “A 31-year-old or above age discarded player who is in form of his life but has been out of the team for a year, how could he get a chance to show that he can still be good enough for Pakistan when such restrictions are in place,” he questioned.
In his view, a player gets mature at the age of 27 to 29 and then his best years start but this decision will only ruin the careers of deserving athletes as they will be kicked out at a time when they are at their peak. He requested PHF to rethink its decision in order to be fair to everybody because it will ultimately hurt Pakistan hockey, which has already been on the decline |
