There was a time when Pakistan hockey ruled the world and the mercurial Hasan Sardar was the toast of the nation. He was Man of the Tournament in Pakistan's victorious 1982 World Cup-winning campaign in Mumbai and then led Pakistan to the Olympic gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. However, as things stand currently, according to Sardar, all that has changed.

"It's very sad but kids are not taking to hockey anymore in Pakistan. Earlier, a lot of kids from Karachi and the frontier regions played hockey, but now only a few from the Punjab region play the game," Sardar, 60, manager of the Pakistan hockey team at the Asian Games here, told mid-day during a team training session at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex yesterday.