FIH junior World Cup 2021: Pakistan hockey coach Danish Kaleem feels lack of job opportunities for players affecting sport

Pakistan hockey team in Pool D of the FIH men's junior hockey World Cup 2021. (Photo: IANS)

The Pakistan team were one of the powerhouses when it came to the sport of hockey. Pakistan hockey team have an enviable record of being three-time Olympic champions (1960, 1968 and 1984) and four-time World Cup winners (1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994) but the sport has been on the decline in the recent year.

Pakistan men’s senior hockey side have now failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2016 and 2021 in Tokyo Olympics, whereas India went on to win the bronze medal from the discipline this year. Now the junior Pakistan hockey team is in India for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 in Bhubaneshwar after being denied Indian visa back in 2016.

Pakistan junior men’s hockey team head coach Danish Kaleem believes ‘lack of job opportunities’ for hockey players has led to decline of the sport in the country. “There can be a lot of reasons for the decline of hockey in Pakistan. Job opportunities for hockey players are very limited which prevents youngsters from taking up the sport. It can be one of the reasons which may have affected our hockey team’s performance,” Kaleem said during a virtual media conference ahead of the Junior World Cup on Monday (November 22).

Just 3 days away from the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021.

The tournament starts on 24th November.

Check out the full schedule and the squads on the link below#RisingStars #HockeyInvites — International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) November 21, 2021

Pakistan have been clubbed in Pool D with Germany, Pakistan, Egypt and Argentina with their opening game against the Germans on Wednesday (November 24). The Pakistan junior men’s hockey captain Abdul Rana agreed with his coach.

“Our hockey is constantly improving and we are making efforts to get back to where we were on the world stage in the past. I am sure that this team will be able to usher a positive change in Pakistan hockey and we’ll be able to surprise the whole world,” Abdul Rana said.

India will be heading into the junior men’s World Cup as the defending champions and they are in Group B, along with Canada, France, and Poland. The India junior side, led by Vivek Sagar Prasad, will be looking to retain the prestigious trophy.

Since COVID-19 struck last year, Pakistan junior team much like the Indian side haven’t had any international match in the lead up to the World Cup. “We had a lot of domestic tournaments at the junior level, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) organised national camps regularly and also we played a lot of matches against the senior side and senior domestic sides as well,” head coach Kaleem informed.

Kaleem was part of the coaching side with the Pakistan senior team back in 2018 during the hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar. “I have a lot of experience in conditions here. We organised our preparatory camp in Karachi because weather there is quite similar to Bhubaneswar. I am sure juniors will catch the attention of the world with their performance here,” he added.