Wednesday, December 1, 2010

NATIONAL SPORT OF PAKISTAN

Hockey 
Field Hockey is the national Sport in Pakistan, but today, Cricket is the most popular Sport in Pakistan.[1] Traditional Sports like Kabaddi and other well known games are also played. The Pakistan Sports Board was created in 1962 by the Ministry of Education as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition in Sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing internationally, and regulating and controlling Sports in Pakistan on a national basis. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, now has control over the Pakistan Sports Board. The PSB controls all 39 Sporting Federations. The Pakistan Sports Board is support by the Pakistan Sports Trust which assists hard up players and associations so they can continue participating in sports.
Over recent years there has been an increase in sporting activity in Pakistan, with Pakistani sportsmen and women participating at many national and international events. Also, more international tournaments now take place in Pakistan. The size of the teams Pakistan sends, and the number of events they participate in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Games and Commonwealth Games has increased since the turn of the century.

History of Pakistan Hockey in Olympics

Pakistan Hockey Federation was established in 1948, to guide and look after the players. The Pakistan Hockey team was also given a name-Green Shirts. Since then, Hockey has become Pakistan's national game. Pakistan has a glorious history in Men's Hockey. The past is glorious. The nation has won 3 gold medals in field hockey in summer Olympics. The journey actually started with 1956 Olympics, when the Pakistani national side reached Olympics final for the first time. The nation got independence in 1947, so this was a big achievement. India defeated Pakistan in this final, but the green shirts never lost hope. They level the defeat of 1956 final with an impressive victory in Olympics of 1960.
In the next 4 Olympics, Pakistan never left the field without going to the victory stand. Pakistan proved it that their winning the Olympics in 1960 was no fluke. Pakistan played the final match in 1964, 1968 and 1972 for 3 consecutive Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1968 and silver medal in the other two Olympics.
Pakistani Green shirts were not able to reach the final of the Olympics in 1976 and 1980, but they did strike back full force in 1984 and snatched the gold medal from the strongest opponent West Germany. After 1984, Pakistan has reached the victory stand in Olympics hockey only once. That was back in 1992, for a bronze medal.
In fact Pakistan's first international win was over Belgium on the 2nd of August, 1948, at the fourteenth Olympic Games. Since then, their game has been progressing from strength to strength. And world-class players like-Hassan Sardar, Mohammed Saqlain, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mansoor Ahmed, Sohail Abbas, Kaleemullah Khan, Waseem Ahmad, Shahnaz Sheikh, Samiullah Khan and Manzoor Hussain, among others-will forever find their names etched in letters of gold!
The Pakistan Hockey teams are best remembered for their performances at the various Olympiads. Every Summer Olympics is after all an international event, and it requires a lot of grit and excellence to overcome competition from so many participating countries! And this Pakistan managed to do wonderfully, especially on the "hockey" field! The winning squads were carefully chosen to represent the country, and they did not fail the faith placed in them! Their record has really been enviable! They are the proud owners of three gold medals at the Summer Olympics held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. The 1960 Olympics was special to Pakistan as Pakistan won the gold medal in Olympics for the first time.
Also, Pakistan defeated the arch rival India in the final. In the 1968 Olympics final, Pakistan defeated Australia to snatch the crown. Pakistan beat West Germany in 1984 to win the gold medal third time. Since then Pakistan has not performed in the usual brilliant way in any Olympics. And so what if they did not receive gold medals during the other Olympiads? They did manage to bag 3 silvers and 2 bronze in their place! The nation is proud of its hockey history, and wishes to get back to the crown once again very soon.

1 comment:

  1. Hockey is the national sports of Pakistan. It is known in every country. And it is also counted in an olympic games.


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