Hockey definitely has to be one of the most sought after sports at the Olympics, and Paris 2024 was no different. The tournament saw the Netherlands take gold in the men’s and women’s section, while Indian hockey team went on to clinch their second successive bronze. Eventually, the competition lived up to the expectations of the fans, and FIH president Tayyab Ikram couldn’t be more chuffed about it.
Paris Olympics a Great Success
Speaking exclusively to InsideSport, Ikram, who going to be appointed the FIH chief for the second straight term, opened up about the Paris Olympics tournament, dwindling form of the Asian sides in hockey, and the plans to arrest the slide in form of teams like Pakistan, Japan and South Korea.
“I think that (Paris Olympics) was the best Olympic games for our athletes. The kind of experience our players and coaches had was wonderful. So yes, in those terms, the Games were a huge success,” Ikram started off by saying. The former Pakistan coach made no bones about the fact, that to grow in hockey, nations need stronger financial models, and improvement will only happen then.
Pakistan Hockey Needs to Follow Indian Hockey Structure
“Today it’s important to know that in high performing structure, you need a very strong financial model. So, if i say in Paris we had 12 men team and 12 women team, there were still equally decent 6-8 teams outside the Games. They were not able to go to Paris or could not qualify for the games. One of the reasons is the finances the federations have. So, only a strong financial model can bring teams like Pakistan back to the Olympics.”
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In fact, Tayyab Ikram also hinted that nations like Pakistan don’t have to go far to learn. He cited the example of India, who have managed to setup a strong financial system. “You can see a very successful model in India. You just follow what India did; they recognise the consistent approach, they recognise the professionalism in coaching and they also recognise that how important is to have a strong financial model around top athletes. So there is something for Pakistan to learn,” he added.
The FIH president also made it clear, that the body has plans of developing the sport further in all the five continents. “We are targeting all five continents. We have strong focus in America.. Chile is hosting lot of international events. There is a huge potential in South America with nations like Paraguay, and in Africa like Kenya. Oceania is on our priority as well, where hockey 5s is really famous. So ya, it will come big in these nations soon,” he concluded.
(Interview done by Akshitt Vedyan)
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