Pakistan Hockey Team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024 after they succumbed to a heartbreaking loss against New Zealand in the last 8 minutes. The Kiwis defeated the Shaheens 3-2 in their quest to qualify for the semifinal and secure third position in the competition.
The Green Shirts led the game by 2-1 till the last quarter of the game, Abu Bakar scored a brace for Pakistan, but the last quarter turned out to be detrimental as they conceded too many Penalty corners against the Kiwis. Pakistan missed two glorious chances and one of them was a close-ranged sitter by Abdul Hanan Shahid.
New Zealand were relentless and they could feel the nervousness in Pakistan’s ranks in the last quarters, once they equalized, the game was there for them to win and they went for the kill.
FT: New Zealand 3-2 Pakistan
Pakistan's Olympics 2024 dream is over.
2016 ❌
2020 ❌
2024 ❌What an embarrassing decline for the three-time Olympic gold medallists.#HockeyInvites #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/NicJ7dpQar
— Muneeb Farrukh (@Muneeb313_) January 21, 2024
Both the fans and the players were crestfallen at full-time as Pakistan Hockey team failed to qualify for the Olympics for the third successive time. The three-time Olympic Champions, Pakistan have failed to qualify for the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
In a post-match presser, Captain Ammad Butt pointed out at the discrepancies in the system, “People want us to win but they don’t know what players have to deal with on a daily basis. I will never cry in front of everyone and talk about the injustice to hockey players in Pakistan, but we are heartbroken.”
Renowned Hockey commentator Simon Mason said during the game, “This is Pakistan’s best defensive display in the last 5 years.”
Pakistan hockey players don’t get paid on time and the Pakistan Hockey Federation, PHF is always a mess but Pakistan still tried to compete with the best teams in the world, defeating China and a nail-biting draw against Malaysia to qualify for the semifinals was a great comeback after a 6-1 defeat to Great Britain in the first game of the group stage. The performance against New Zealand was also a display of great fight, grit and determination by Pakistan.
This year Pakistan Hockey Federation was sponsored by Lahore Qalandars, as they did not have adequate funds to send the team to Oman. In 2018, The Hockey Federation was strapped in terms of funding and needed assistance from Peshawar Zalmi’s Javed Afridi to bail them out.
