Pakistan hockey in free fall as India bounced back: Akbar

Hockey great Akbar has said that Pakistan's hockey team is in free fall due to the absence of regular domestic competition, while India has bounced back thanks to a consistent domestic structure. The former Pakistan international made the assessment in an interview with PTI, reported by sports.ndtv.com.

Akbar, who represented Pakistan in 230 international matches and played in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, pointed to the lack of a strong domestic league as the main reason for Pakistan's decline. India, in contrast, has developed a robust domestic setup that has helped the national team improve.