ISLAMABAD: Hockey chief resigned on Thursday, a day after the prime minister ordered an inquiry into a shambolic tour of Australia that saw the national team scrubbing dishes in a guest house.
Tariq Bugti, who headed the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), stepped down following complaints by national team players in last week’s whitewash tour, and after premier Shehbaz Sharif launched a probe.
While cricket is hugely popular in Pakistan, field hockey is the country’s national sport.
But Pakistan — three-time Olympic champions and four-time World Cup winners — have plummeted to as low as 14th in the international rankings.
Team captain Ammad Butt slammed the PHF, blaming the body for not paying for a hotel, with players forced to wash their clothes and dishes at what they deemed substandard accommodation in Hobart, Tasmania.
Ahead of the Australia tour, players boycotted a training camp over non-payment of a daily allowance of $110 — their only income with no match fees or central contracts.
“I am tired of the tension which we have suffered in the last year,” Butt told AFP.
“First I had to fight for the daily allowances and now this shabby treatment on the tour.”