LAHORE, July 14: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) aims for a gold medal in the forthcoming Olympic Games scheduled to bully off in Athens from Aug 13, PHF officials said on Wednesday.

Assistant coach Tahir Zaman, flanked by chief selector Chaudhry Akhtar Rasool and secretary Mussaratullah Khan, expressed his belief at a Meet-the-Press programme organized by the Sports Journalist Association Lahore (SJAL), that the team's performance in the European tour showed "they have the potential to beat any team in the Olympics".

Tahir saw no big difference among the world's top five teams and said the fact had further firmed his belief Pakistan was quite able to grab gold. Although the Indians failed to give good results in Europe, they still had potential to stage a comeback in the Games, he opined.

He blamed the team's 6-0 defeat to Germany in the European tour on the boys not being fresh-minded in the first tie of the tournament, but added that at the same time Pakistan beat Argentina, who had defeated Germany. Such results come up during preparation tours, he said.

Tahir agreed to Khawaja Junaid's observation that Pakistan failed to get short-corners, and the fact could be point of concern for Sohail Abbas. "Yes, Junaid is right to some extent.

Since the team played an aggressive game, experienced different combinations and tried to score through field attempts also, they could not clinch many short-corners. "It was just part of our strategy and you will (again) see the team displaying a different game in Athens," he said.

Tahir dispelled the impression that the ouster of Mohammad Saqlain just before the European tour was a result of his rivalry with a player. "In the presence of PHF, selection committee, coach and other responsible persons I have no such power to impose my decision on others."

PHF secretary Mussaratullah though admitted that Saqlain's ouster was a national loss and it was a tough decision for the federation. Saqlain in an attempt to show individual artistry committed some mistakes much to the dismay of coach Roelant Oltman, he added.

Furthermore, Saqlain had also challenged the coach's authority. He passed some comments in his vernacular, which the coach did not understand and later asked from other players to tell him what he said.

He disclosed that the PHF president Gen Muhammad Aziz Khan had rejected the coach's proposal for taking a 19-member team on Europe tour. "Oltman had insisted on only 19 players but the president stuck to 20," he said.

Secretary denied complaints about the newly laid turfs being substandard but admitted that the method of laying them was not correct. The Pakistan Sports Board and the provincial sports boards responsible for laying pitches were not equipped with proper equipment and the point had been brought into the notice of higher authorities in black and white, he said adding PHF had no main role in the process.

He said that the "D" area at the Hockey Club of Pakistan, Karachi had been rectified and the work was in progress at the pitch in Peshawar. However, there was no complaint from Quetta, he said.

About the team's proposed Indian tour in September, the secretary said that he was awaiting a final MoU from his Indian counterpart. "I had tried to contact them but failed," he said.

Chief selector Akhtar Rasool denied the impression that the selection committee had no authority left after the induction of foreign coach Oltman. The process of consultation among captain, coach and the selection committee is a practice which still continues, he said claiming the present team was the best of the world who would surely earn a gold in the Athens.