Pakistan captain Umar Bhutta cites inexperience as reason for failure to finish matches in Asian Champions Trophy 2023

The skipper also hoped that his team can overcome the pressure against arch-rivals India.

Pakistan Hockey used to be a dominative force in the 1970s and were in the top of their game for close to three decades — having won the Olympic Games thrice and the World Cup four times. But since the start of the 21st century, things have not gone in the right direction with Pakistan failing to qualify for the previous two Olympics – Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2014 alongside the World Cup held earlier this year.

The lack of infrastructure along with several other internal reasons has played a major role in the ineffectiveness of Pakistan hockey. However, they are slowly starting to make their mark in international stage, with the next major assignment being the Asian Games. The last major multi-event tournament Pakistan participated in was the Commonwealth Games where they finished seventh among ten nations.

In the ongoing Asian champions trophy 2023, the Green shirts have performed well against reigning Asian Games champions Japan, defending champions Korea but due to inexperience couldn’t finish either game with a win.

Ahead of the important clash against India, Khel Now caught up with Pakistan captain Umar Bhutta, who is the most experienced player in the side currently having more than 200 international caps.

Young Team

The current Pakistan side has close to 12 players from the junior setup — specifically three players made their debut in the Asian Champions Trophy. In last year’s Asia Cup, Pakistan finished second after a close fight against India in the final (1-2).

The captain quipped, “They are termed youngsters due to their age and inexperience, but they play their hockey pretty well. They have the capability and quality to be in the senior squad and have performed to the expectations. Close to 12 players will be playing their first match against India in India which is huge.

“Several players have played against the hosts in the Asia Cup last year but playing against them in their home ground is completely different. I think they will feel the nerves in the initial few minutes, but they will adapt as the match goes by.”

Among those players is 19-year-old Muhammad Khan, who is currently placed third in the goalscorers list with three goals and is just one goal behind India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh.

Skipper Umar Bhutta has high hopes in the 19-year-old centre-forward. “Muhammad Khan is a very good player and importantly the players around him are also pretty good. What is important to note is that he has scored field goals and our centre forwards in particular have performed well compared to other teams. I also rate him as the future of Pakistan hockey and going forward wish to see him perform consistently.”

Role as an experienced player and playing in midfield

Umar Bhutta made his Pakistan debut in 2012 and since then he has been a vital cog in the Pakistan team. He made his 200th international appearance at the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy and currently plays as a midfielder in the side. He spoke about his current position.

“In modern hockey, midfield probably is very dominated. The midfielder always needs to stay active and acts as a link between the forward and the defence. Initially, I used to play in the forward position but gradually have shifted to the midfield position and also happy to contribute from whichever position I play from. With the team being young, I have the extra responsibility to help players understand gameplay at different time frames on the pitch.”

“In the last few matches against Korea and Japan, we had the lead but couldn’t hold onto it which is mainly due to inexperience. It is all about handling situations in crunch games which is the main thing the youngsters have to learn.”

Importance of Departmental Hockey

One of the main reasons for decline of hockey in Pakistan is due to closure of departmental hockey. Most of the public and private sector companies had their hockey teams which would compete in domestic tournaments building a strong foundation. But in the last few years several companies have closed down their teams.

Umar Bhutta exclaimed, “Departmental hockey played a major role in development of hockey in India, Pakistan, and Malaysia. Hockey players majorly belong to mediocre family or say from poor background. So players coming from such a background need to have financial stability and getting a job in the department isnt very easy as players need to practise hard to earn a spot and a job simultaneously.

“In our countries (specially Asia), sportspersons only train and play matches all round the year whereas in European countries the players work in the weekdays and practise and play matches in the weekends. This has been a major issue in Pakistan for the past few years but now quite a few departments are renewing their teams and in future we might get to see more talents come up.”

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Olympic qualifiers in Lahore

The teams which did not make the cut for the Paris Olympics through continental Games quota will have to play in a qualifying tournament scheduled to be held in Pakistan and Spain.

“In my view, the Olympic qualifiers in Lahore will be a game changing moment for Pakistan hockey. Small kids and youngsters will get to watch top teams come to our country and play quality hockey. This in turn will change the landscape of hockey in Pakistan. Parents, after watching the matches, might push their children to play hockey which ultimately will increase the talent pool.”

“For example, many children in the last week have come to watch the Asian Champions Trophy and few of them after seeing the matches might develop interest to take up the sport which is good for the country in expanding the grassroots. Also, with the emergence of media, people get to watch matches through various mediums as well so overall it will be a good platform to host matches after a long break in Pakistan.”

Thoughts on the Asian Games schedule

“We more or less expected the pools to be same as the one released yesterday. In our pool (A), we have two teams – India and Japan playing at the Asian Champions Trophy while the other two are ranked less. On the other hand, Korea and Malaysia are placed in Pool B.”

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