Captain Zeeshan Ashraf said in a statement yesterday that all 18 players had accepted the defeat and decided to retire from international hockey. “The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has done a lot for us in every field but the players did not come up to expectations,” he added. He said the players would support the PHF in future in any aspect of the game and would also be available if Pakistan needed any player any time. “We have taken this decision voluntarily and we want now the youngsters to take over.”

The players who announced retirement are Nasir Ahmad and Salman Akbar (goalkeepers), Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Abbas and Muhammad Rashid (full-backs), Muhammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmad, Muhammad Imran, Fareed Ahmad and Sajjad Anwar (halfs), Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Muhammad Zubair, Akhtar Ali, Omar Bhutta, Abbas Haider and Muhammad Rizwan (forwards). Pakistan coach Shahid Ali Khan flayed the team’s deplorable performance and said he was ready to face any consequence for the debacle.

“It is our worst performance and there is no justification to it. Captain Zeeshan has already apologised to the nation and now it is my turn to apologise before the countrymen for this performance,” he told media. Upset over Pakistan’s worst ever performance, PHF president Qasim Zia has sacked the national selection committee and team management. Qasim said the result was against all expectations. “It is a shameful performance that we have ended up on the last spot in the World Cup, this was something I was not expecting at all from this team.” Qasim, a former Olympian, said that a committee would be formed to inquire into the debacle.

“The immediate step I could take has been taken, but clearly Pakistan hockey today is at its lowest ebb and we need to take drastic measures to set things right,” he maintained. Former Olympians Hasan Sardar, Rana Mujahid, Khalid Bashir and Farhat Khan were on the selection panel while the team manager was Mohammad Asif Bajwa and coach Shahid Ali.

Sacked chief selector Hasan announced his resignation just few minutes before the PHF cracked the whip on the selectors, coach Shahid Ali and manager Asif Bajwa. “I had tendered my resignation well before time because I was let down by this shameful performance of the team,” Hasan, a former captain, said. He said the selectors had picked the best possible squad for the World Cup based on their recent performances.

“This was the best team we could pick but unfortunately for inexplicable reasons the team just didn’t perform to their potential,” he said. Pakistan’s poor show in the World Cup has drawn sharp criticism in the country and with sports fans already reeling under the cricket controversies, the hockey debacle has only added to the gloom and disappointment. Former Olympians Qamar Ibrahim, Mansoor Ahmed and Islahuddin Siddique have held Asif Bajwa responsible for the team’s debacle and demanded his removal from the PHF. “He is a disaster as the World Cup results show. The PHF president must bring in stable and good people to run hockey,” they said.

But Asif Bajwa will continue to work as PHF general secretary. Qasim said Asif Bajwa had been removed as manager but would continue as PHF secretary until further decision. “Asif Bajwa is on elected post as secretary. The PHF board elected him and they will decide on his future but he is no longer manager of now,” Qasim said. The Senate Standing Committee on Sports has also taken notice of the national team’s poor showing in the World Cup where they lost to archrivals India, England, South Africa, Australia and Canada. The Senate’s committee has summoned Qasim, the entire team management and the coach to explain the reasons for the defeats next Thursday.

Pakistan qualified for the mega event after winning a six-team competition in France in November last year. This was the only time they had to go through qualification because of their low rankings. Pakistan, winners of three Olympic gold medals, failed to earn a place in the World Cup when they were defeated in the Asia Cup 2009 final. The green shirts, who remained up in the clouds for more than three decades, have been striving hard for a big title since winning the 1994 World Cup in Australia. They have not won any Asian title since winning the Asian Games in China 19 years ago.

Pakistan finished a poor eighth at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 – their worst ever showing in the Olympics. They have also missed out on the elite six-nation Champions Trophy in 2008 and 2009. Pakistan have never missed a World Cup since the event’s inception in 1971 in Barcelona. Pakistan won the inaugural title and then went on to clinch three more titles in 1978 in Buenos Aires, 1982 in Mumbai and 1994 in Sydney. Pakistan have reached the World Cup final six times.