LAHORE: Pakistan’s leading penaltycorner specialist Sufyan Khan believes the country can regain its lost glory in hockey if the existing system is allowed to operate on modern lines without disruption over the next couple of years.
Speaking exclusively to Dawn from France on Monday, Sufyan said Pakistan’s return to the top of international hockey was not far away, but stressed that continuity in the system was essential to achieving that goal.
Sufyan was preparing to return to Pakistan to join the national training camp in Islamabad ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, before resuming his commitments in a top French league.
‘The days are not far away when Pakistan will regain its lost glory in hockey. However, continuity in the system is a must, as frequent changes and discontinuity in the past have badly damaged the game in the country,’ he said.
Sufyan, who finished as joint top scoreralongside India’s penalty-corner specialist Harmanpreet Singh at the last Asian Games in Japan with 12 goals each, said that despite spending four years in international hockey, he and his teammates were still waiting for a truly memorable moment in their careers.
‘That memorable moment will come when Pakistanqualify for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 and eventually win it,’ Sufyan, who hails from Bannu and was named the International Hockey Federation’s Rising Star in 2024, said.
‘It is unfortunate that Pakistan have failed to qualify for the Olympics since their last appearance at the London Games.
Although scoring 12 goals at the Asian Games was his best individual achievement, Sufyan said he did not consider it a complete success because Pakistan had failed to win the gold medal and secure Olympic qualification, their two main objectives.
‘My 12-goal feat at the Asian Games was undoubtedly my best individual performance, but I cannot consider it a complete achievement because our main target was to win the gold medal and qualify for the Olympics,’ said Sufyan, who made his international debut in 2022.
Asked why Asian hockey had fallen behind Europe, Sufyan cited the absence of bilateral series between Pakistan and India over the past many years as one of the major reasons. He also pointed to the lack of regular competition among Asian teams compared with their European counterparts.
While acknowledging Europe’s dominance in international hockey, Sufyan maintained that Asian players, particularly those from Pakistan and India, remained superior in terms of individual skills.
‘I am playing in France, while several of our players are also featuring in top leagues in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the UK. European players appreciate our style of hockey and are surprised that, despite possessing such excellent skills, we are struggling at the international level,’ he said.According to Sufyan, Pakistan’s decline was largely the result of a lack of continuity in the country’s hockey structure, leading to frequent changes in the national team and its management, particularly the coaching staff.
He welcomed the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) initiative to distribute hockey sticks among schools across the country, describing it as a positive step towards promoting the game at the grassroots level.
‘When we started playing hockey in Bannu, our biggest problem was how to manage hockey sticks and balls,’ he recalled.
However, he urged the PHF, the federal government and provincial governments to extend financial and institutional support to clubs and academies that were producing players for the national team.
Sufyan recalled that his coach in Bannu, Ihsanullah, had recognised his potential and advised him to move to Lahore to receive better training at Dar Hockey Academy.
‘At Dar Hockey Academy, players were provided with free hockey sticks, balls and kits. The academy also offered free meals and accommodation to talented players coming from outside Lahore. I got everything free of cost at the academy, which helped me develop as a player,’ he said.
‘My coach, Ihsanullah, had advised me to spend only two years at Dar Hockey Academy and leave hockey if I failed to achieve anything during that period.
Fortunately, I achieved my target. After spending two years at the academy, I was offered a job in the Pakistan Navy and, six months later, was selected for the national team in 2022,’ he added.
Sufyan said that, besides Dar Hockey Academy, three other institutions in Lahore Olympian KhawajaJunaid’s academy, the academy established by the late Rana Zaheer and Pak Heroes had also played an important role in developing hockey talent over the past two decades.
He pointed out that the four academies had produced scores of players for Pakistan’s senior and junior teams, with around 12 members of the current national squad having emerged from these institutions.
‘Despite their valuable contribution, neither the PHF nor the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is providing them with any special incentives. These academies are generating their own financial resources to continue producing players for Pakistan’s national teams,’ he lamented.
He urged the PHF and PSB to provide adequate support to clubs and academies alongside efforts to promote the game in schools.
Sufyan also praised the Pakistan Army for organising annual inter-club tournaments, which begin at the district level and progress to the national level. He said these competitions provided clubs with valuable opportunities to compete against one another and improve their standards.
He further suggested that the PHF should go beyond distributing hockey sticks and balls to schools by also providing qualified coaches to train physical training (PT) instructors in teaching the game to students.
Citing France’s example, Sufyan said its hockey federation had developed a comprehensive system to monitor school hockey programmes and maintain regular contact with educational institutions to assess their performance.
He stressed that Pakistan needed a similarly coordinated approach to rebuild hockey from the grassroots and restore its place among the world’s leading teams.