This photograph shows the Pakistan’s hockey team on attack against England during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Notice that one of its players is playing barefooted! This game was played at a time when Pakistan’s hockey team just starting its ascent in sporting fame. At this time, they often played without many resources at their disposal. In the 1956 tournament, Pakistan managed to reach the final where it was beaten by India. This highly inexperienced and under-resourced team was greatly hailed at home for their spirit and determination. The arrival of the military regime of Field Martial Ayub Khan in 1958 also helped the game. Hockey and football were encouraged more in the Pakistan armed forces than cricket. It is also rumoured that Ayub disliked cricket.
But Pakistan’s performance in the hockey finals of the 1960 Rome Olympics and its first ever Olympic hockey title won against India changed the way the game was perceived by the regime in Pakistan. Ayub took the victory and expressed it as a sign of Pakistan’s progress and growth as a society and polity.
But Pakistan’s performance in the hockey finals of the 1960 Rome Olympics and its first ever Olympic hockey title won against India changed the way the game was perceived by the regime in Pakistan. Ayub took the victory and expressed it as a sign of Pakistan’s progress and growth as a society and polity.