‘Shameful and painful’: Pakistan hockey legends slam PHF after team stranded in Australia

Karachi: Legendary hockey stars Hassan Sardar and Samiullah have condemned the "shameful" treatment of the Pakistan national team after the squad was left stranded on Australian streets this week due to unpaid hotel bills.

The team, currently in Australia for the FIH Pro League, arrived in Canberra to discover their four-star hotel reservations had been cancelled. Officials confirmed the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) failed to settle the booking costs due to a severe shortage of funds, forcing players to wait outside for several hours with their luggage.

"The Prime Minister has a lot of time for cricket, but he is also the patron-in-chief of the PHF, and I would request him to also clean up hockey affairs. This is shameful," said Samiullah, a former Olympian and celebrated captain.

Sardar, another former captain and Olympic gold medalist, questioned how athletes could be expected to compete at an elite level under such conditions. "Imagine how demoralised the players and support staff must be going into a tough tournament against top teams," he said. "The government must hold an inquiry into the whole episode and find out who is responsible for the humiliation faced by the team."

A Tour Plagued by Administrative Failures

New details have emerged suggesting the logistical breakdown began long before the team reached Canberra. Players described the trip as a "nightmare" marked by governance failures within the PHF and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

• Visa Delays: The squad’s departure was delayed after the PHF reportedly submitted incorrect application forms. They eventually flew out on Feb. 5.
• Lack of Direct Payment: Sources within the PHF claim the PSB was supposed to pay the hotel directly and arrange travel. "We didn't get funds for these things from the PSB, and we didn't have enough funds when head coach Tahir Zaman contacted us," a federation official stated.
• Emergency Shelter: After hours on the road, the hotel was eventually persuaded to provide a limited number of rooms. To accommodate the group, two to three players were forced to share a single room.

The financial crisis follows a similar incident last year in Malaysia, where Pakistan's participation in the Azlan Shah Cup was nearly blocked until a $10,000 outstanding hotel bill was cleared.

Exhausted and underprepared, the team went directly from their temporary lodging to the pitch, where they lost their opening match against Australia 3-2. The defeat marks the team's sixth consecutive loss in the current Pro League season.

With inputs from PTI