Squash and hockey were two such games in which once no country could hold candle to Pakistan. For years together, Pakistan had been producing squash and hockey players, the likes of whom were never seen by the world.
Time was when the other hockey playing nations used to engage hockey coaches from this country to train their hockey teams. In every major international hockey tournament held between 1948 and the end of 20th century our hockey team used to reach the victory stand . We were either gold or silver or bronze medalist. For about half a century, Pakistan hockey team ruled the roost. World has yet to see the likes of Hamidi, Anwaar Ahmad Khan, Habib Ali Kiddi, Atif, Samiullah, Matiullah, Hasan Sardar. Zakauddin, Naseer Bunda, Shahnaz, Rashid (Junior), Manzoor ul Hasan , Munir Dar, Ghulam Rasool, Kalimullah, Qazi Mohib, Fazlur Rehman, Asad Malik, Khurshid Alam , Abdul Waheed, Hayat , Hanif Khan, and Tanveer Dar, to mention a few.
In the same manner, Pakistan dominated the world of squash for a very long time. It is unbelievable that we should have hit rock bottom in both these games towards the fag end of last century.
Granted that lean periods do come in the life of every country, insofar, sports are concernced but they are not everlasting and if a country had fallen on bad days in some game, after remaining at the top of it, does bounce back one day . Unfortunately, in our case the lean period in these two games has been rather a very long one. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.