Sufyan Khan: Pakistan’s Glory Days Aren’t Far Away, But the System Has to Stop Changing
Pakistan’s best player right now has a simple message, and it’s not really about hockey. It’s about sticking with something.
Sufyan Khan, the penalty-corner specialist who finished joint top scorer at the Asian Games with 12 goals, told Dawn this week that Pakistan can get back to the top. But only if the system around the team stops being pulled apart every few months.
“The days are not far away when Pakistan will regain its lost glory in hockey,” he said. “However, continuity in the system is a must, as frequent changes and discontinuity in the past have badly damaged the game in the country.”
He was speaking from France, where he plays club hockey, just before flying back to join Pakistan’s training camp in Islamabad ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. Then it’s straight back to his French club once the tournament’s done.
The number that still stings
Twelve goals at an Asian Games is some achievement. Sufyan matched India’s Harmanpreet Singh, goal for goal. He calls it his best individual performance. He won’t call it a success.
“My 12-goal feat at the Asian Games was undoubtedly my best individual performance, but I cannot consider it a complete achievement because our main target was to win the gold medal and qualify for the Olympics,” he said.
That’s the thing about this Pakistan side. They’ve got a drag-flicker who can win games on his own, and four years into his international career, he’s still waiting for the one result that would define it.
“That memorable moment will come when Pakistan qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 and eventually win it,” he said.
Pakistan haven’t played Olympic hockey since London 2012. Sixteen years by the time LA comes around. Sufyan knows the number, and he doesn’t dodge it.
Why Asia fell behind
Asked why Asian hockey has slipped behind Europe, Sufyan pointed at something nobody can fix with a training drill: Pakistan and India barely play each other any more. No bilateral series for years, and not enough regular competition among Asian teams full stop.
He’s not buying the idea that Asian players are short on talent, either. “I am playing in France, while several of our players are also featuring in top leagues in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the UK,” he said. “European players appreciate our style of hockey and are surprised that, despite possessing such excellent skills, we are struggling at the international level.”
For our money, he’s right about the diagnosis and it’s the same one he’s making about the system. The talent’s there. The structure around it keeps changing, coaches come and go, and the team pays for it.
Where he came from
Sufyan’s own story is the grassroots argument in one go. He grew up in Bannu, where his first problem was getting hold of a stick and a ball. His coach there, Ihsanullah, spotted him and sent him to Lahore, to the Dar Hockey Academy.
“At Dar Hockey Academy, players were provided with free hockey sticks, balls and kits. The academy also offered free meals and accommodation to talented players coming from outside Lahore. I got everything free of cost at the academy, which helped me develop as a player,” he said.
His coach gave him two years to make it or walk away. Two years later he had a job with the Pakistan Navy, and six months after that he was in the national team. He made his international debut in 2022 and was named the FIH’s Rising Star in 2024.
He name-checked the other Lahore academies too, Olympian Khawaja Junaid’s, the one set up by the late Rana Zaheer, and Pak Heroes. Between them, he reckons around 12 members of the current national squad came through those four academies. And none of them get a rupee from the PHF or the Pakistan Sports Board.
“Despite their valuable contribution, neither the PHF nor the Pakistan Sports Board is providing them with any special incentives. These academies are generating their own financial resources to continue producing players for Pakistan’s national teams,” he said.
He welcomed the PHF’s move to hand out hockey sticks in schools, but he wants more than equipment. Qualified coaches to train school instructors, for a start, and proper backing for the clubs and academies already doing the work. He pointed to France, where the federation tracks school hockey properly and stays in touch with the schools. Pakistan, he said, needs that kind of joined-up approach.
He also had a good word for the Pakistan Army’s annual inter-club tournaments, which run from district level up to national level and give clubs real games against each other.
What happens next
Sufyan joins the camp in Islamabad, where around 50 players have been training under national coach Daniel Berry. Pakistan open the Azlan Shah Cup against Canada on Friday 20 November, then face the USA, Australia, South Korea and hosts Malaysia. He’s in the 18, and he’s the man the penalty corners run through.
Pakistan went to the last Asian Games and came home with bronze and a top scorer. The next step is a tournament win, and then the long road to LA 2028. Sufyan’s made his point: give this group time, and the results will come.
