Pakistan’s great fall: How former hockey giant failed Olympics test, again

What caused the downfall of one of the world’s most successful hockey-playing nations, and does it have a plan to reclaim its lost glory?

Islamabad, Pakistan – The clock was ticking away, and only eight minutes remained for the Pakistani hockey team to break an embarrassing pattern of decline in a sport it dominated for decades.

But New Zealand forward Hugo Inglis equalised the score in their qualifying match in Oman in January. Then, with just two minutes left for the final whistle, Scott Boyde made the winning hit. New Zealand had won 3-2.

And, with that, ended Pakistan’s dream of an Olympic berth – its third miss in a row.

“It was an incredibly sad day, the most heartbreaking of my career so far. To be so close and yet so far once again was difficult to get over,” Pakistan’s ace forward, Rana Waheed Ashraf, told Al Jazeera.

For decades, Pakistan were a dominant force in the sport. They have won three Olympic golds (1960, 1968 and 1984), as many silvers (1956, 1964 and 1972), and two bronze medals (1976 and 1992), making it a near-permanent presence at the games podium.

Pakistan also won an unmatched four of the first eight hockey World Cup tournaments.

But they failed to qualify for the 2014 and 2023 World Cups and finished a poor 12th among 16 teams in the 2018 tournament. In the 2010 World Cup, they finished last among 12 participants.

They are currently ranked 16th in world hockey. And with Pakistan missing out on the Olympics for the third time in a row, questions are mounting: What caused the downfall of one of the world’s most successful hockey-playing nations, and does it have a plan to recover its lost glory?

The last time Pakistan won an Olympic medal in hockey was a bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The