Pakistan, India resolve to revive hockey contacts

KARACHI Pakistan and India, once hockey powers in the world, have resolved to resume hockey contacts on bigger scale to revive the sagging interest in the game in the region.
According to a message received by The Nation here, the secretaries of Hockey India Narinder Batra and secretary of Pakistan Hockey Federation former Olympian Asif Bajwa held a fruitful meeting on the sidelines of the on going World Hockey Cup in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss revival of bilateral test series both in men and women which will be played on home and away basis.
The latest development is the only positive that the two sub continental countries struggling to maintain their past reputation have achieved in the 12 nation World Cup in which they have failed to impress and finished with lower rankings in a competition dominated by super fit Europeans and South Korea.
At the meeting, both Pakistan and India decided to revive annual bilateral test series in mens hockey and launch a new initiative in womens hockey series on home and away basis.
The details of the annual series, it was gathered here, would be discussed and finalised after the two nations sign a Memorandum of Under standing which is expected to inked in near future in Lahore.
An Indian hockey delegation would travel to Lahore at a date yet to decided in near future to finalise and sign the MOU and thrash out the nitty gritty of the revival of hockey between the two countries.
Another achievement of the preliminary discussion held at the Indian capital is a decision taken for exchange of players for their domestic hockey leagues and to start and an eight-team double leg sub continental league to be played in both the countries.
Initially four teams each from India and Pakistan shall participate in the proposed double league with the provision of increasing the number of teams.
The national federations of the two countries have also decided to launch an umpires and technical officials exchange programme.
Both the Federations have resolved to promote the sport in Asia and especially in the sub continent. Pakistan and India dominated Olympics for six decades unchallenged when the game was played on grassy outfields lost their glory when the sport switched to plastic surfaces where fitness counted more than skills.
Pakistan and India yet remained most sought teams at international competition due to their hockey artistry.
Without the support of the two governments the revival of bilateral series would be impossible. The two countries needed political will to start sporting contacts which could help in easing out the current tensions. Due to political tension in the region the efforts of the two governments to maintain sporting contacts suffered constant set backs.
A few years ago when the political temperatures were low in the region, Pakistan and India held bilateral series. However, those were suspended more for political than any other reasons.
If the hockey contacts despite all the odds were revived, not only hockey would gain but even the hockey players would be benefited by playing in professional hockey league. A few years ago a number of Pakistani players earned profitably playing in Indian Hockey league.
It was due to league concept that the European nations adopted, hockey had flowered in that region. Countries like Spain, Holland, England, and Germany now known hockey force had tremendously improved their standards by playing against each other more frequently because they live in the same neighborhood and traveling was less expensive.
National hockey league in Holland and Germany had also helped players from European countries to bag lucrative paling contracts and further sharpen their skills.
Some of the Pakistanis and Indian players who were fortunate enough to get a chance to play in national European league earned good money and at the same time improved their fitness and skills.
India, the strongest financial sports hub in the region can play a crucial role in creating at atmosphere when sub continental players could earn money.