IN THIS POST:
– About Field Hockey
– Field Hockey in Pakistan
– Historical Records
– Rules of the Game
– Hockey Stadiums in Pakistan
The love for cricket dominates the hearts of sports fans in Pakistan. Considering the passion for cricket and the fame of the top cricket stadiums in Pakistan, most people might find it hard to believe that field hockey is the National Sport of Pakistan, especially since the sport is rarely talked about among sports enthusiasts. But facts being what they are, Cricket is the National Sport of England, where, funnily enough, football is preferred more among sporting fans than the national game. If these facts have caught your interest, stay with us as we cover all of the relevant details about field hockey in Pakistan, including some historical facts about the sport, the rules of the game, and even, the rarely discussed, but amazingly built, hockey stadiums in Pakistan.
About Field Hockey
As a team sport, field hockey can be played on a range of surfaces, including grass, artificial turf, watered turf, and more. With ten players on the field and one goalkeeper, the game usually involves hitting a round and hard plastic ball to get it into the opposing team’s net, past the goalkeeper, using long and curved sticks made from wood or fibreglass. While the length of the sticks varies and is customised for each player’s height, the stick always has a round and a flat side, with the flatter one being used in the game.
About Field Hockey in Pakistan
Commonly known only as hockey, the sport was brought to the Indian subcontinent by the British and became the National Sport of Pakistan after its independence. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is the organisation governing everything related to hockey in Pakistan and has been a member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since 1948. Pakistan is also one of the founding members of the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF) along with Japan, Malaysia, India, and the Republic of Korea. The ASHF came into being in 1958 in Tokyo.
What is truly worth noting is that Pakistan is the most successful national field hockey team to date in the Hockey World Cup, with four wins chalked up in its hall of fame, followed closely by The Netherlands, with three wins. The team is casually known as the Green Shirts and called the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore as their home ground. This is also the headquarters of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, which is the governing body for both the National Men’s Hockey Team and the National Women’s Hockey Team.
Historical Records of Pakistan’s Field Hockey Team
Elaborating on the above, Pakistan’s national hockey team won the Hockey World Cup in the years 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994. The Green Shirts have one of the best overall performances in the history of the Hockey World Cup and are also one of the most successful national teams in the Asian Games with a total of eight wins in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, and 2010.
What’s more, Pakistan’s hockey team is also the only Asian team that has won the Hockey Champions Trophy (HCT), not just once, but thrice, in 1978, 1980 and 1994. The team also returned as proud victors in the Olympic Games when they were held in Rome in 1960, Mexico City in 1968, and Los Angeles in 1984.
Former Captain of the national field hockey team, Sohail Abbas, who was a defender and a penalty corner specialist, also holds a World Record for the ‘Highest Number of Individual Goals in International Hockey’ with a total of 348 goals.
Currently, the Pakistani Hockey Team is ranked at number 17 by the FIH, but it has had a glorious past, with 17 appearances in the Olympic Games, 13 appearances in the Hockey World Cup, 31 appearances in the Hockey Champions Trophy, and 16 appearances in the Asian Games.
Rules of the Game
There are several variants of hockey that are played all over the world, but some of the important rules of hockey include:
- Only the goalkeepers can touch the ball with any part of their body except for the stick
- The hand is an extension of the stick as long as it is touching the stick
- The ball can only be hit with the flat side of the stick
- Hitting the ball with the rounded side of the stick results in a penalty
- The team with the most goals by the end of the match is declared the winner
- A tied score either results in a draw or a penalty shootout
Hockey Stadiums in Pakistan
There are eight major hockey stadiums in Pakistan, with the most famous being the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore. It is also called Gaddafi Hockey Stadium and is famous for being the largest field hockey stadium in the world with a capacity of 45,000 sports fans. It is closely followed by Faisalabad Hockey Stadium and the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium in Karachi. Other hockey stadiums are located in Sialkot, Gojra, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi.
Now you know all about field hockey in Pakistan. Hockey fans in Pakistan can follow the PHF on its social media platforms to stay updated on the latest events, tournaments, and games. Here are some other national symbols of Pakistan.
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