What key technical factor fundamentally altered international field hockey, contributing significantly to Pakistan’s decline?

💡 Explanation:

Pakistan's golden era in field hockey coincided with the game being played on natural grass. The mandatory global transition to expensive, synthetic Astroturf pitches for international tournaments starting in the 1970s and 80s required massive investment in infrastructure and a change in technique (favoring speed and short passes). Pakistan's government and the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) struggled with the financial burden of adopting and maintaining these surfaces, which is consistently cited as a major contributing factor to the national team's long-term decline, as players were not trained on modern facilities.