Field hockey in Pakistan refers to two teams, the Pakistan men's national field hockey team and the Pakistan women's national field hockey team.
History The game of field hockey was originally brought to areas of now Pakistan during the British Raj, and like cricket, it became a popular sport among the local population. The Pakistan Hockey Federation came into being in 1948,History of Pakistan Hockey Federation on Pakistan Olympic Association website Retrieved 13 January 2020 following the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Prior to this, players from what is now Pakistan had competed internationally alongside players from what is now India. In the beginning, the federation's membership included the provincial hockey federations of West Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bahawalpur, East Bengal, and the Pakistani Armed Forces Sports Board.
Pakistan played their first international game in London when they defeated Belgium 2-1 at the 14th Olympic Games on 2 August 1948.History of Pakistan Hockey Federation on Pakistan Olympic Association website Retrieved 13 January 2020 The first president of PHF was Ghazanfar Ali Khan, with Baseer Ali Sheikh as the Honorary Secretary.Management of Pakistan Hockey Federation on Pakistan Hockey Federation website Retrieved 1 July 2023The Pakistan national side soon established a strong reputation in international competition, helping to maintain interest in the game in Pakistan which assisted the growth of the federation. However, no full-time central office or secretariat, as such, was established until the 1960s. The office of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, located at the National Hockey Stadium was developed into a secretariat in 1971. It was during the second term as president of Air Marshal (Retd) Nur Khan from 1978 that Pakistani hockey entered a golden age. National senior, national Junior and women hockey teams were all competing internationally. On the personal initiative of Air Marshal (Retd) Nur Khan, the FIH introduced the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, which rated among field hockey's major international tournaments alongside the Olympics.
However, the 1976 Olympics in Montreal had seen the introduction of artificial turf to international hockey competitions. Pakistan was unable to build many artificial turf pitches compared to the European sides, and thus the strength of the national side began declining slowly.
Domestic competitions The National Hockey Championship has served as the premier domestic cup competition of Pakistan since 1948.
A franchise based Pakistan Super Hockey League was held in 2005.
Competitions won Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics, Rome 1968 Summer Olympics, Mexico 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles
World Cup
1971 Hockey World Cup, Spain 1978 Hockey World Cup, Argentina 1982 Hockey World Cup, India 1994 Hockey World Cup, Australia
Champions Trophy
1978 Hockey Champions Trophy, Pakistan 1980 Hockey Champions Trophy, Pakistan 1994 Hockey Champions Trophy, Pakistan
National teams Pakistan men's national field hockey team Pakistan women's national field hockey team
Men's ranking
Women's ranking
Notable players Manzoor Hussain Shahbaz Ahmedhttp://www.fih.ch/news/shahbaz-ahmed-appointed-pakistan-hockey-federation-secretary-general/, Shahbaz Ahmed on International Hockey Federation website, Retrieved 10 February 2017 Nasir Ali Brig. Khalid Mukhtar Farani, SI(M) Islah-ud-din Tahir Zaman Hassan Sardar Samiullah Khan Kaleemullah Khan Shahid Ali Khan Waseem Feroz Waseem Ahmed Munawwaruz Zaman Tariq Mehmood Kamran Ashraf Sohail Abbas Haider Hussain Maqsood Hussain Mahmood Hussain Shahnaz Sheikh Mohammed Saqlain Zeeshan Ashraf Muhammad Waqas Naeem Tahir Tariq Sheikh Asif Bajwa Aleem Raza Anis Ahmed Zahid Pirzada Hanif Khan Naseer Bunda Akhtar Rasool Khalid Mahmood Naveed Alam Muhammad Saqlain
See also Pakistan Hockey Federation
References