Very ture. Well 1978-1980 was a golden era of Pakistan hockey when we won all the intenational matches. We have such marvellous record in hockey that can never be achieved by our cricket team, yet *we have abondoned hockey. *
I read somewhere that in one of the museums in Germany, they have a video featuring Hassan Sardar's 100 greatest goals. The video is aptly named 'The Magician'
Sadly the PHF (cf. PCB) failed to benefit from the services of this extremely gifted hockey player and simply ignored him after he retired in the late 80s.
Although he scored many memorable goals, I remember one in particular...I think it was the Asia Cup Final in 1982 (Pak won 4-1) where he gathered the ball from Pakistan's D, dribbled past 4 or 5 Indian players in mid-field, dodged another 2 or 3 defenders after entering the Indian D and scored a simply sensational field goal from a very acute angle. I don't think I have ever seen anyone score a better field goal than Hassan.
Interestingly Pakistan's greatest cricket (Imran Khan) and hockey players (Hassan Sardar) are both Aitchisonians!
I read somewhere that in one of the museums in Germany, they have a video featuring Hassan Sardar's 100 greatest goals. The video is aptly named 'The Magician'
That match was played in Karachi but I do not remeber the year.
Well! The most interesting match for me was 1982 Asian Games Final in Delhi. India scored first but thereafter Pakistan scored seven goals. And Jang published frustrating and defeated pictures of Indra Gandhi after every goal except for the first one!
There is no stick in the hockey world that ever maneuvered like Hasan Sardar’s. For the Pakistani centre-forward, Mumbai will always remain his most memorable city.
Playing his first World Cup in 1982, Sardar scored 11 goals in the tournament. A record of most goals in a World Cup still stands in his name.
Accompanying the team as a manager at the Afro-Asian Games, Sardar told Sunday Mid Day about his five favourite matches.
The 1982 World Cup
It was his first World Cup and Pakistan played the final against Germany in Bombay (Mumbai). India was trailing by a goal till the time Sardar scored the equaliser.
1982 Asia Cup
It is here where Sardar scored the “best goal of his life’’. Pakistan defeated India 4-1.
1982 Asian Games
An unfit Sardar was asked to play as a schemer. He claims ‘‘playing India in India and winning 7-1’’ has to be cherished all his life.
1984 Olympics
The semi-final against Australia was getting out of hand, until the Pakistani great got into the act. Starting with a equaliser in that match Hasan led Pakistani attack to win the Olympic title.
Pakistan's poor performance contines. The classification match against China ended 2-2 draw until full time and Pakistan later won on penalties 3-1. In the past it was unthinkable that Pakistan would draw against China.
The Great
What a player! Also, another thing that makes me happy is that he attended my high school, Aitchison College. We are both colts. Pakistan Zindabad. What days they were! Pakistan beat Australia in the semi and then handed defeat to the Germans in LA in 1984. In those days the Pakistani forwards were so good that they averaged 10-15 penalty corners a game. Imagine Sohail Abbas in that team. Pakistan would have won twice as many world cups, champions trophies , and olympics."
The same team (Korea) that beat Pakistan easily (4-2) got thrashed by Australia 6-2! 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament: Australia to face Malaysia in final http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\12\story_12-5-2007_pg2_3
IPOH (Malaysia): Reigning Olympic champions Australia stormed into the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a 6-2 win over South Korea in the semi-finals here on Friday.
They will play Malaysia in the title decider on Sunday after the home nation defeated India 2-1 with a capacity crowd of 9,000 fans cheering them on. It is the Australians’ fourth final appearance in a row and their eighth overall. It is the Malaysians’ first final since 1985. The four-time champions had little difficulty in overcoming the Koreans, who gave a listless performance. But the Malaysia-India encounter was an end-to-end affair with both teams on the attack from the start. The Malaysians started the scoring in the 11th minute with a field goal from Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin. But the Indians drew level in the 14th minute.
The Malaysians kept up their attacking game plan in the second half and were rewarded in the 40th minute when Kelvinder Singh scored from close range. That proved to be the winner as the Indians wasted numerous chances over the last 15 minutes of the game. In the earlier match, once the Australians scored the first goal there was no stopping them and they deservedly booked their final date. The Australia-Korea game started with both teams on the attack but it was the Australians who drew first blood in the ninth minute through Desmond Abbott. Two minutes later the Koreans were back level. The Australians continued to push hard and they were rewarded in the 22nd minute when Bevan George’s hit into the “D” was well met by Andrew Smith. The Koreans kept going and in the 33rd minute they had the ball in the net but the Malaysian umpire blew for an infringement.
The Koreans protested and walked off to their bench. But the game restarted after five minutes. In the second half the Australians got off to a quick start and managed to score early. They further increased their lead in the 51st minute when Eli Matheson made a solo run from the 25-yard line and unleashed a fierce shot, making the score 4-1. Lee Sung-Min managed to pull a goal back for the Koreans in the 57th minute but the Australians sealed victory with two further goals. afp
Hockey: Australia win Sultan Azlan Shah Cup IPOH, Malaysia, May 13, 2007 (AFP) - Australia regained the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup by defeating Malaysia 3-1 in the final of the 16th edition here Sunday. The reigning Olympic champions, who have won the trophy four times before, proved far superior to the Malaysians and three field goals in the second half were enough to win the title.
Hockey: Australia win Sultan Azlan Shah Cup IPOH, Malaysia, May 13, 2007 (AFP) - Australia regained the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup by defeating Malaysia 3-1 in the final of the 16th edition here Sunday. The reigning Olympic champions, who have won the trophy four times before, proved far superior to the Malaysians and three field goals in the second half were enough to win the title.
Pakistan finished poorly at 6th - the worst in the tournament's history. The decline continues! Probably we will play our last olympics in 2008 and the last world cup in 2010.
