Olympic gold medallist Sam Quek has expressed her disappointment over hockey’s struggle to maintain its profile since the historic Rio 2016 victory.
As the long-time horse racing fan readies herself as part of ITV’s team and a bumper Grand National viewership at Aintree, Quek highlighted how hockey failed to capitalise on its moment in the spotlight.
“Ten million people watched hockey the night we won gold. Suddenly there was massive excitement about the sport,” she told the Racing Post.
“Clubs had waiting lists, and there weren’t enough training sessions to accommodate the people who wanted to take up or restart playing hockey.”
Despite the surge in interest, Quek believes the sport became complacent. “Unfortunately, as a sport we were naive and just happy to have the same purists filling our stadiums.
“Look at hockey now and you see a sport that has died on the vine. You don’t see hockey on terrestrial television,” she added.
Drawing a parallel with horse racing, Quek stressed the importance of embracing a broader audience.
“I don’t have a problem with [racing enthusiasts], but there are also plenty of people who enjoy going racing for the fashion, food, and fun, as well as watching the racing and having a bit of a flutter,” she said.
“These are the people we need to embrace — and I know that firsthand because of what has happened in hockey.”
The former hockey ace’s comments reflect a broader concern that sports need to evolve with changing demographics and viewing habits to avoid fading into obscurity.
With hockey struggling to sustain its post-Rio success, Quek’s words serve as a cautionary tale for other sports aiming to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive entertainment landscape.
And Quek, who had a racing-themed wedding at Chester Racecourse, warned against complacency in horse racing, noting: “I would hate racing to slowly go down that path, simply because we haven’t leaned into changing times.
“We can already see that Cheltenham Festival attendances are dwindling. I have a passion for racing, but I also know we need to make it open to as many people as possible.”
I agree, the BBC Sport website has never covered hockey appropriately and neither do the England and GB Hockey websites. We can only hope that Channel 4 get their act together.