The Pakistan hockey team during a training session. -Photo by Sara Faruqi/Dawn.com

KARACHI: Hockey coach Hanif Khan is of the view that young players’ exposure in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will help in preparing back-up line for future.

“It provides us an opportunity to see how these boys fare in an international level competition,” he said prior to team’s departure on Tuesday for Malaysia.

Six nations will be featuring in the event being held from March 9 to 17 with Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the opening match.
Australia, India, South Korea and hosts Malaysia are the other teams taking part in the nine-day competition.

Veteran players Waseem Ahmed, Shakeel Abbasi, Rizwan Ahmed and Rashid Mahmood are rested.

“We wanted to test new boys by giving rest to some senior players,” said Hanif, adding that they have prepared Mohammad Irfan as their penalty-corner striker.

“Let’s see how he performs in Ipoh with Mohammad Atiq,” the coach remarked.

It is pertinent to mention that the young lot includes Imran Junior, Mohammad Suleman and Irfan Junior.—APP

“My target this year is to make Pakistan team stronger tactically and mentally,” Hanif Khan said.

KARACHI: Pakistan hockey coach Hanif Khan said on Tuesday that there are a number of areas the national outfit need to improve in and he was working on various strategies to help Pakistan in overcoming formidable sides like Australia and the Netherlands.

“My target this year is to make Pakistan team stronger tactically and mentally to fare better and become winners against teams like Australia and the Netherlands,” he told APP.

“A lot of work still needs to be done to improve our scoring firepower through field goals as well as conversion of penalty-corners,” he commented.

“My efforts aim to help players improve themselves physically and psychologically.”

“The team needed to implement the 70-minute plan given to them before each match to emerge winners,” the hockey coach remarked while saying that most of the players are experienced and did not need coaching but proper plan to implement in the field.

Talking about in lengths about various problems the Pakistan team are faced with, Hanif, a member of 1984 Los Angles Olympic gold medal winning team, opined that the team needed to strengthen their game in the mid-field besides improving defence against counter-attacks.

“Finishing is another big problem as our players create a number of goal-scoring moves but lack basic skills to finish them properly,” he said, adding that he is guiding forwards how to improve their finishing.

After retirement of penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas, Pakistan needed to produce other penalty-corner specialists, the coach stated while saying: “Atiq, Tausiq, Irfan are all good prospects apart from captain Mohammad Imran, but they needed to work hard to improve their short-corner conversion.”

He said winning the bronze medal in Melbourne and clinching the Asian Champions Trophy in Doha have given players confidence.

“Securing bronze in the Champions Trophy and gold medal in the Asian Champions Trophy is a step in the right direction. We hope that players would work harder for reviving past glories of Pakistan hockey.”—APP

Pakistan finished seventh at the London Olympics. -Photo by Reuters

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has decided to dissolve the national selection committee after the meeting of the PHF executive body on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.

Former chief selector, Hanif Khan, has been appointed as a coach and Akhtar Rasool will fulfill the responsibility of head coach while also managing the team. Former Olympian Tahir Zaman has been appointed as consultant for the junior and senior team.

The current team management will operate until 2014.

Speaking to the media, Rasool said that this will make things easier for the national team adding that they will now target the 2014 hockey World Cup.

Asif Bajwa, the secretary of the PHF, while addressing a press conference, said that this step by the federation will make the coaches and the manager answerable for the team’s performances.

Pakistan finished seventh at the London Olympics, making it their fifth outing at the Games without a medal.

LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) Executive Board at its meeting on coming Monday will announce new management for the senior team.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at the National Hockey Stadium here.

According to the agenda in place for the meeting, the Board will discuss the senior team’s management as the previous team management has completed its tenure after the end of the London Olympics.

Dawn has learnt that former captain and Olympian Akhtar Rasool, appointed as head coach for the London Olympics where Pakistan earned seventh position — one place above eighth spot the green-shirts had recorded at the 2008 Beijing Games, will be retained. It is believed that Akhtar had very less time of four months to prepare the side for the London Games.

Hanif Khan, the chief selector and Olympian, is most likely to be reassigned to function as a member of the coaching panel to work under Akhtar along with Khawaja Junaid and former goalkeeper Ahmed Alam. Shahid Ali Khan is most likely to be removed as goalkeeper coach.

The fate of the national selection committee will also be discussed. If it is retained, then Olympian Hasan Sardar is a strong candidate to head it. The only factor which may go against Hasan is the fact that during his last tenure as chief selector Pakistan hit the rock bottom in the 2010 World Cup staged in New Delhi.

Tahir Zaman, another former Pakistan coach and Olympian, is all set to join the PHF as consultant.

Strategy for the upcoming events like the Champions Trophy and Asian Champions Trophy, both to be held in December, in Australia and Qatar respectively, will also be discussed.

Meanwhile, the PHF has invited five more probables to attend the ongoing juniors training camp at the Hockey Club of Pakistan in Karachi. They are Mohammad Muzammil Bhatti, Mohammad Asad Bashir, Usman Aslam, Arsalan Qadir and Abdul Jabbar.

-Photo by AP

KARACHI: The former hockey Olympians of the game have once again joined hands in a bid to save the national sport from further shame as the officials of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) refuse to either step down or come up with any positive measures following the Olympic flop in London last month.

“We were here before too, in 2010, after the national team finished 12th out of 12 teams in the World Cup. And we are back again now with the resolve to save the game and will not give up until we see some good thing happening for hockey which the current PHF management has not been able to do in the past four years,” said Shahnaz Sheikh while addressing the media at a jam-packed press conference at the Karachi Press Club here on Friday.

“What has the current PHF management done for hockey in the past four years except for reducing it to mediocrity and ruining it,” he said. “When the team comes 12th in the World Cup, seventh in Champions Trophy and eighth and seventh in the two Olympics, the results speak for themselves. While the game has suffered like never before, the PHF has only fired coaches, banned players, divided the Olympians and done nothing for improving the infrastructure, only saving their necks and their jobs during this time.”

“And what to say of chief selector Hanif Khan who claimed that the team he had put together will finish among the top four. The same goes for team coach Akhtar Rasool who issued a ridiculous statement just before the last group match in London that “our
target is actually the 2014 World Cup.”

Shahnaz further added: “After every tournament, our team management announced that the players are improving and they have marked the grey areas. God only knows when they would be able to cover these ‘grey areas’. They have been awarded Rs 80-85 crores in funding by the government and they still couldn’t do anything for hockey.”

The brilliant forward of his time said PHF had been fooling the public with their claims that several academies in the country were working to prepare many young players for the country’s future. “The PHF says there are 19 academies working all over
the country with a pool of 622 players. If they had such a big pool of players, why would they be fielding players who are in their mid 30s?” asked Shahnaz.

“And why couldn’t they take along a seasoned goalkeeper like Salman Akbar to the Games? As everyone saw, one of the main reasons for the team’s failure at the Olympics was the goalkeeper who performed so poorly but could not be replaced since we had no other option,” he pointed out.

Another ex-Olympian Ayaz Mahmood said that there was nothing that the current PHF management could do for improving hockey therefore they should now shoulder the blame and step down. “We want genuine and honest people who know how to work in the PHF,” he said.

Olympian Wasim Feroz was of the opinion that the PHF was too busy creating an eye wash and nothing concrete was being done.

“What do they mean by saying that the team did well in a three-nation or four-nation event? The events that really count are the World Cup, Olympics, Champions Trophy and Asian Games. Tell us about those,” he demanded.

Olympian Rashid-ul-Hassan said that he was not interested in seeing Pakistan play India as it would do nothing for the team.

“Pakistan is currently ranked ninth in the world while India is ranked 12th. We should be playing better sides like Australia and Holland in order to improve, not the lowly-ranked India,” he argued.

Former captain Islahuddin Siddiqui said that four years ago when the current PHF management took over the national team was ranked sixth in the world but now it is ranked ninth according to the FIH rankings which is a sorry state of affairs. “And the results speak for themselves, we are only slipping, becoming physically and technically weaker. It is not that the other teams have gotten better, it is really that we have gotten worse.”

Islah went on to say: “There was a time in the old days that if Pakistan team finished second or third in an event, we would not show our faces to our countrymen. And look how the current players and the management is behaving today, with no shame or regret to show for their failure. I must say the current PHF management is the biggest threat to the game of hockey today. They should be ashamed of themselves!”

“Myself and my friends have gathered here and humbly appeal to the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zaradar and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf to fire the current PHF management and form an adhoc committee at once which may include three former players, one person from the Sports Board and one from the government, to run the affairs of hockey. As for us Olympians, we are always there for any help or advice,” he concluded.

The meeting was also attended by ex-Olympians Akhtar ul Islam, Qamar Zia, Qamar Ibrahim, Kamran Ashraf, Safdar Abbas among others.

The Olympians pledged that will not rest till they see the ouster of the current PHF management for which they would even hold a sit-in outside the parliament house in Islamabad.

Imran Shah’s selection as the sole keeper in the Pakistan squad had raised many questions. -Photo by Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief selector Olympian Hanif Khan has said that he is no longer interested in continuing with his post.

Soon after the Pakistan hockey team went out of medal contention in the London Olympics hockey event following their 7-0 loss to Australia, Hanif said that his contract with the federation was already expiring after the Olympics and he wasn’t interested in seeing it renewed.

The selection of the current team featuring in the Olympics has raised many questions as among other things the team went into the Games without the seasoned goalkeeper Salman Akbar while only taking along one goalkeeper, a decision that has completely backfired for them after goalkeeper Imran Shah conceded 16 goals in five games.

But according to the talk in hockey circles, Hanif as selector was never in complete command anyway.

-Photo by AP

PESHAWAR: A 20-member tentative hockey team for the London Olympics was announced on Sunday by Chairman Selection Committee Hanif Khan with the choice of Akhter Rasool as the Chief Coach .

The committee decided to drop two players.

President Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Qasim Zia, Secretary PHF Asif Bajwa were also present during the trial. Sohail Abbas was named as captain while Waqas Sahreef as Vice Captain.

Final probables for the team were goal-keepers, Imran Shah and Imran Butt, Full backs, Muhammad Irfan, Suhail Abbas, Kashif Shah and Muhammad Imran. Half-Backs are Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mehmood, Touseeq and Waseem Aahmed. The forwards consisted of Muhammad Waqas Shareef, Umer Boota, Shakeel Abbasi, Husseen Khan, Muhammad Zubair, Rizwan Senior, Shafqat Rasool, Rehan Butt and Ali Shan.

Hanif Khan said that team is selected after consultation with team captain, coach and selectors as there was tough competition among players and final squad of 16 players to be named after 10-day practice session to be held at Abbottabad.

President PHF Zia was very much optimistic about the team’s performance at forthcoming London Olympics and said that when he took over charge of PHF, he made target of Asian Games and also Olympic where in Asian Pakistan did well and positively in London Olympic, result will be surprising and up to their expectations as in last Olympics Pakistan stood at 7th place but this time it will be in top four.

Zia said that currently this is and best available lot in Pakistan which they got after long term planning and majority of the players are young and these all come through academies which are effectively working.

He pointed out that among the current lot, majority of the players are 22 to 25 years and he hoped that future is our and nation will once again see our glories of the past.

-File photo

Pakistan will meet Argentina in the opening match of 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia on May 24.

The prestigious tournament, which will run until June 3, will present Pakistan with their last opportunity to test their mettle ahead of the Olympic Games which take place in London from July 27 to August 12.

Pakistan will likely field a young-looking squad in the event after senior players Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt breached the code of conduct of the Pakistan Hockey Federation by featuring in the un-sanctioned World Series Hockey in India.

The tournament will be played on round-robin league format, culminating in positional playoffs and the final.

Apart from Shakeel and Rehan, former Pakistan captains Waseem Ahmed, Zeeshan Ashraf, Imran Khan, Imran Warsi, Adnan Maqsood and Tariq Aziz are representing different teams in WSH.

Khan, who was a member of the Pakistan side which last won the Olympics hockey tournament at Los Angles in 1984, said that they will be selecting the best possible side from the available players.

“The performance of the youngsters in Ipoh will help us in selecting the best team for the London Olympics,” he said.

Argentina, Great Britain, India, South Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan and hosts Malaysia will be taking part in the 11-day championship with the green-shirts taking on traditional-rivals India on May 31.

The new Karachi hockey academies have not produced a single talented boy: Hanif Khan.—APP photo

KARACHI: PHF Chief Selector Olympian Hanif Khan has said that the hockey academies in Karachi are yet to produce any notable talent in the game.

`The new Karachi hockey academies have not produced a single talented boy as yet but Pm happy to see fresh talent coming from the other PHF academies spread nationwide, said Hanif candidly.

`We have some 500 talented boys and they are so good that when their time comes they will make the country forget about current big names like Sohail Abbas and Shakeel Abbasi,` he said.

Asked why Karachi was lagging behind in producing good players as it had done in the past, the chief selector said: `Few people here give time to hockey.

But the PHF has assured me that it will do all it can to change this and promote the game in the city, which is also why they are holding the National Hockey Championship here.

The 59th National Hockey Championship will be played at Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium in Karachi from Jan 26 to Feb 11. The PHF on Wednesday said that the national team coach Michel van dan Heuvel would also be present in the city to watch the event.

`We will also take Michel`s input during the championship,` Hanif concluded.

Manzoor said chief selector Olympian Hanif Khan should resign from his post instead of giving unfair explanations to defend himself. -File Photo

LAHORE: Former Pakistan hockey captain Manzoor Junior has demanded of the prime minister to dissolve the incumbent body of the Pakistan Hockey Federation and impose ad hoc on it after national team’s dismal performance in the ongoing Champions Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand.

Pakistan went 5-0 down against Germany on Saturday and will now play for the seventh position in the eight-team event.

Talking to Dawn, Manzoor said chief selector Olympian Hanif Khan should resign from his post instead of giving unfair explanations to defend himself.

“I appeal to the patron-in-chief of the PHF, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, to dissolve the incapable body of the federation forthwith and impose ad hoc on it,” Manzoor said.

“Instead of giving statements, Hanif should show courage and character to resign from his post,” he demanded.

“I, as a member of the Executive Board of the PHF, had resigned after Qasim Zia-led management called back Shahid Ali Khan and other coaches who were responsible for Pakistan’s worst performance at the 2010 World Cup.

“But just after three months of the debacle, Shahid was called back to be appointed as goalkeeping coach, just because he was their favourite,” said Manzoor, under whose captaincy Pakistan won the gold medal in the 1984 Los Angles Olympics.

“At the time of resigning as member of the executive board, I had predicted that Pakistan would be among the last three teams in the Champions Trophy if they do not mend their ways,” he reiterated.

He said the current management should also be sacked because coach Michel van den Heuvel brought the team down instead of improving its standard during the last two years.

“Heuvel has no standing in his own country (Holland) but we have given him free hand but all have resulted in disaster and if the same people will remain attached with the game, the nation will see worst situation,” Manzoor claimed.

“Pakistan could not win a match against any European team, including England, which is considered a weak side. It is because our standard has declined,” he blasted.

He said there was no need for such people who were only good at obeying the orders of the authorities but those who were committed to the national cause. He said the nation would not pardon PHF officials for doing blunders repeatedly.

The former captain said the government had invested millions of rupees on hockey but all went in vain. “The nation will see similar results in the Olympics, which are just seven months away, if the government fails to take timely action.”

He claimed Pakistan’s players were technically sound but they lacked in fitness, which was required for competing internationally. “But our coach does not know this. He has failed to engage our players in activities which could enhance their fitness and stamina,” he said.

“The Dutch coach should be made accountable for his performance during the last two years,” Manzoor added.

He said the European teams had edge over Pakistan because they were supreme fit. He said the domestic structure of Pakistan had been destroyed and the PHF had also failed to find young talent through its academies.

“If the PHF had found talented players from these academies, it would have been able to replace ageing players like Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi,” he said.