Pakistan hockey’s absence from Tokyo Olympics is very hurtful

Muhammad Ali

LAHORE: At the ongoing Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 in Japan, the Pakistan Olympic Association has sent only ten athletes. A nation of 220 million is being represented by just ten sportspersons. The 10 comprised seven men and three women, competing in athletics, badminton, judo, shooting, swimming, and weightlifting. Before that, at the Rio Olympic Games 2016, Pakistan had its smallest-ever contingent: just seven athletes. Since 1948, hockey had been Pakistan’s main hope for an Olympic medal. The hockey squad always formed a major part of Pakistan’s Olympic contingent. It is lamentable that Pakistan hockey, which remained up in the clouds for more than three decades, is not the same force that it used to be, and failed to qualify for two consecutive Olympic Games: Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Pakistan hockey, which inspired millions around the globe, has failed to win a single Olympic medal of any colour since 1992 Barcelona.